Evergreen Marine recently christened its latest 8,500-TEU L-type vessel, the fourth of 30 L-type vessels on order from CSBC Corporation to be delivered by the shipyard.
Naming ceremonies for Ever Lucent were held at the shipyard’s Kaohsiung, Taiwan premises, officiated by Molly Mok, chairwoman of Evergreen Marine (Singapore).
“According to forecasts by many economic research institutes, the global outlook is gradually improving,” said Mok in her speech at the ceremony. “In view of this growth momentum, Evergreen Line has been conducting a fleet renewal program to better serve the expected recovery in trade.”
The newbuilding measures 334.8 meters in length, 45.8 meters in width, and with a draft of 14.2 meters. It has 948 reefer plugs and a maximum cruise speed of 24.5 knots.
The box ship is due to begin service on March 11 on the Asia-Europe trade lane.
Evergreen Line kicked off a fleet modernization program four years ago when shipbuilding costs were very low, a company statement said.
It ordered 30 L-type vessels, and had five 8,800-TEU and ten 13,800-TEU ships chartered. The carrier also closed charter deals for ten 14,000-TEU vessels “to meet the tonnage demand of alliance commitments.”
“The delivery of these newbuildings, scheduled between now and 2017, will be balanced by the redelivery of ships currently on charter when these agreements expire,” the company said.
