The China Navigation Company (CNCo) the ship owning arm of Swire Group, has signed an agreement with Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry for six multipurpose vessels (2,321 TEU equivalents) to be delivered from mid 2011 onwards with an option for six more to be delivered after mid-2012.
The US$360 million order was signed in Shanghai on June 19 and will be among the largest multipurpose ships afloat at 40,000 dead weight tons.
Travelling fully loaded at 16 knots, each ship will be 199 metres long and 32.2 metre abeam. CNCo has developed their design in close cooperation with the Shanghai Ship Design and Research Institute and plans to have the ships in liner service with Swire Shipping Limited.
"With more than a decade since China Navigation placed its last new building order this is a significant occasion for us," said CNCo managing director Richard Kendall. "We have dedicated a lot of resources to designing a ship that combined capability for the cargoes we carry in our trades with flexibility for a range of future deployments."
Mr Kendall also said the new ships would help the company reduce its reliance on chartered tonnage, adding that he planned to order new ships to provide fleet replacements in coming years.
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