Report: Largest container ships ever ordered

   The shipping publication Lloyd’s List is reporting that Samsung will build a minimum of three 19,200-TEU ships for Scorpio Group, which will bareboat charter the ships to Mediterranean Shipping Co.
   If the report is true, these would appear to be the largest containerships ever constructed. Lloyd’s List attributed its information to “industry sources familiar with the project.”
   American Shipper was unable to independently confirm the report with sources from Scorpio or MSC, and Lloyd’s List noted that there has been no announcement of the project in filings with the Korean Stock Exchange
   There have been reports in recent  weeks in Lloyd’s List, the Wall Street Journal and Tradewinds about plans that Monaco-based Scorpio, a fast growing company with huge orders of both tankers and dry bulk vessels, was planning to move into the container sector by building extremely large ships, perhaps with capacity of as much as 20,000 TEU.
   While the economies of scale of such very large ships are compelling because of their ability to lower fuel costs, terminals are already having problems handing the massive amounts of cargo being discharged from large ships now coming into service, leading some liner executives and analysts to question the wisdom of such large vessels.
   In recent weeks, there have been reports of congestion surcharges being imposed by carriers because of congestion even at ports such as Rotterdam and Hamburg, which are experienced in handling very large ships.
   Last Friday, Hapag Lloyd announced it was diverting three voyages of its Europe-Asia Loop 4 service to call at Antwerp instead of Rotterdam because of congestion.
   Lloyd’s List said the ships would cost about $153 million each, be delivered in 2015, and that there is an option for three additional sister ships.
   According to their websites, Scorpio Tankers has a fleet of 31 owned tankers, 26 tankers chartered in, and 43 tankers under construction, while Scorpio bulkers has 17 dry bulk ships chartered in and at least 74 dry bulk ships on order.