MOL: New Containerships to Upgrade Service

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced an upgrade to its Asia-East Coast South America Service (CSW). From July 2011 through 2012, MOL will launch a total of 10 new 5,600 TEU containerships which will replace its currently-operated vessels on the CSW.
The newbuilding ships will adopt a new wide-beam and shallow-draft design, featuring high loading capacity and compatibility with shallow-draft ports in South America. Moreover, effective July 2011, MOL will assign an additional ship to CSW with a total of 13 ships, which allows sufficient time to revise the existing schedule. Along with the fleet expansion, MOL will begin chartering space to a consortium of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line), Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd. (HMM), and Pacific International Line (PIL).(*)

Main specifications of 5,600TEU newbuilding containerships:

Capacity: 71,407mt
Length: 275.1m
Breadth: 40m
Draft: 14.00m
Shipyard: Hyundai Samho Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (South Korea)

New CSW service rotation (13 ships, 91 days turnaround): Xingang (Wed/Wed), Dalian (Thu/Fri), Qingdao (Sat/Sat), Pusan (Mon/Mon), Shanghai (Fri/Sat), Hong Kong (Mon/Mon), Singapore (Fri/Sat), Santos (Sat/Sun), Buenos Aires (Tue/Wed), Montevideo (Thu/Thu), Paranagua (Sun/Sun), Sao Francisco Do Sul (Mon/Mon), Santos (Tue/Wed), Rio De Janeiro (Thu/Fri), Cape Town (Sat/Sun), Ngqura (Mon/Tue), Singapore (Thu/Fri), Hong Kong (Wed/Wed) and Xingang (Wed).

(*) Start of chartering space to the consortium:
Departure of MOL Distinction from Shanghai on July 9, 2011