Maersk Line announced that A.P. Moller - Maersk signed an agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. in Korea for the delivery of 16 container vessels in 2010-12. The vessels have individual capacities of 7,450 TEU and are equipped with reefer plugs enabling them to carry 1,700 refrigerated containers each.
The ships are designed to meet the highest demands for safe and economic transportation of goods in the trade to and from the East Coast of South America. In addition, each vessel is equipped with a waste heat recovery system. The system reuses excess heat from the exhaust and thus generates energy for propulsion of the vessel or on-board electricity consumption. The reduction in fuel consumption results in a corresponding reduction of emissions.
"We are very excited with this order and the opportunities these vessels will provide our customers in South America. We are confident that the vessels will enable us to continue to offer competitive container shipping based on a modern, economical, and environmentally friendly fleet," says Senior Vice President Michel Deleuran, Head of Network & Product in Maersk Line.
Maersk Line expects to deploy the 16 vessels in the trades between the East Coast of South America and Asia and Europe. Michel Deleuran adds, "We expect a continued strong growth in these markets; we believe that this order shows our long-term commitment to providing service and support to our customers' increasing business in the aforementioned trades"
Brazil and Argentina, especially, have fast growing consumer markets. In the last five years, the trade between Asia and the East Coast of South America has grown more than 20% per year on average. In the next five years, growth is expected to remain in the double digits.