Pacific International Lines (PIL), a Singaporean container ship operator, has recently taken delivery of two new container ships, each with more than 11,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) of capacity.
The two vessels are among the fleet of twelve 11,800-TEU box vessels ordered by PIL, and have been christened “Kota Pahlawan” and “Kota Panjang” at a naming ceremony held in China.
Both have successfully completed their sea trials, and set off for Singapore on October 30 and November 1, respectively. These two vessels, delivered October 26, 2017, have been deployed on the Far East-US AC5 service beginning November 2017.
The AC5 has a port rotation involving Xiamen, Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, and Long Beach.
Built by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) at its Suzhou shipyard, the vessels have been designed with safety and the crew’s comfort in mind. There is an improved field of vision from the bridge and the crew living quarters have been laid out in such a configuration that the living area is away from the engine room, reducing engine noise to the crew quarters.
The vessels are each fitted with 1,400 reefer plugs that can accommodate up to 2,800 TEUs of refrigerated containers on board. They also feature an energy efficient design with an Energy Efficiency Design Index well below the required reference level.
Photo: Vmenkov
