Mega-newbuilds stream in as 14,000-TEU giant comes next

DELIVERIES of new cellular ships are continuing, with MSC scheduled to take delivery next week of the 14,000-TEU MSC Melatilde built by DSME (Daewoo Group).

This will bring to nine the number of 13,798-14,000-TEU ships delivered by Samsung and DSME, out of a total of 26 units, both owned and chartered. The MSC Melatilde will join the Far East-North Europe Silk service which will then be run with 11 ships averaging 13,500 TEU, reports Paris-based Alphaliner.

It said that two 11,660-TEU ships previously used on the service will be cascaded to the Lion service. This loop will thus be upgraded from a 9,000-9,500 TEU service to one that deploys vessels of 11,000 TEU and up.

MISC Bhd has taken in charge the 8,500-TEU Bunga Seroja Tiga, the first of four 8,500-TEU ships that are on a long-term charter from their Japanese owners which ordered them in March 2008 from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

MISC had originally planned to deploy them on the Far East-Europe route within the Grand Alliance partnership, but it exited the Far East-Europe sector and the Grand Alliance at the beginning of the year, the report said.

The first two units have been marketed for charter and fixed to APL. The Bunga Seroja Tiga has been renamed the APL Zeebrugge and is assigned to the New World Alliance's South China Express (SCX), replacing one of MOL's 6,400-TEU ships. The second unit is planned for delivery in August.

Meanwhile, Cosco Container Lines is preparing to receive the Tian Sheng He, the seventh of a dozen 5,100-TEU vessels ordered from Jiangnan Changxing in two phases in April 2006 and February 2007. She is to join the CKYH FEUSEC AWE 2 loop, Alphaliner said.

Reederei Hamburger Lloyd (RHL) has received the RHL Fidelitas, the second of three 5,086-TEU ships ordered in China at the Jiangnan Changxing shipyard in September 2006. The three ships have been chartered by CSAV.

OOCL has received the 4,578-TEU OOCL Savannah and OOCL Jakarta, the last two units of a 16-ship-series ordered from Samsung Heavy Industries in several steps starting from August 2004.

The OOCL Savannah will join OOCL's Japan-South China-Thailand KTX 2 service, while the OOCL Jakarta will join the China Pakistan Express CPX service, which is jointly run by OOCL and Yang Ming.

"K" Line will receive the Bay Bridge, the second of seven 4,432-TEU ships ordered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in July 2007. The Bay Bridge is assigned to the CKYH PSW-1 service. "K" Line will charter another five new buildings of similar size from Seaspan.

Rival Japanese carrier MOL will take in charge the MOL Diamond, the third of four 4,380-TEU ships ordered in July 2007 by Singapore-based Seacastle from the Korean shipyard DSME (an affiliate of the Daewoo Group). The MOL Diamond has been assigned to MOL's Asia-South Africa-ECSA service (CSW).

Seaspan Corporation has received the CSAV Lebu, the last in a series of four ships of 4,253 TEU ordered in April 2007 from the Jiangsu Yangzijiang shipyard, backed by a six-year charter from CSAV. The CSAV Lebu will join CSAV's Asia Andes Express Service Loop 1 (ANDEX 1).

Norwegian company Norse Shipmanagement has received from the Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard the Viking Kestrel, the last of five 1,732-TEU ships of the Flensburg/Wenchong 1700 class.

Maersk Line is to take in charge the 1,708-TEU Maersk Walvis Bay, 34th unit in the Imabari 1700 class and the 11th ship for Maersk-Safmarine use. She has been assigned to the Mashariki Express, a weekly relay service connecting directly Tanjung Pelepas to Mombasa and Dar Es Salaam, Alphaliner said.

"The cellular ship orderbook is down to 3.96 million TEU, ie, 29.2 per cent of the existing fleet, according to the latest Alphaliner figures, its lowest level since February 2005 in TEU terms. Apart from the natural reduction caused by ship deliveries, some 520,000 TEU of orders have been cancelled or converted into other ship types since the crisis started to unfurl in September 2008," it said.
(Source:www.schednet.com)