Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has placed an order for eight new 14,000-TEU container ships to be deployed on the Asia-Europe trade lane.
NYK said it has reached time-charter agreements for eight new container ships to be built at the shipyard of Japan Marine United Co. in Kure, Japan.
The ships will be delivered from February 2016 through January 2018 and will have improved fuel efficiency and cargo loadability compared to today’s container ships of similar size.
After delivery, the vessels will be put into service in Asia and Europe as replacements for existing ships, including four 13,000-TEU vessels chartered from Orient Overseas Container Line.
The newbuilds will have an overall length of about 364 meters, breadth of about 51 meters, and draft of about 15 meters.
Meanwhile, NYK has announced its new medium-term management plan, “More than Shipping 2018,” which runs from April 2014 to 2019.
The new plan still adheres to the previous “More Than Shipping 2013” as a basic strategy, this time with more focus on differentiating the company from the competition through “creative solutions.”
These solutions include the incorporation of new marine, logistics, and information technologies, as well as implementing improvements through “originality and ingenuity in all business pursuits, from frontline to head office management.”
Under the plan, the shipping line, which has struggled against weak demand and volatile market conditions, will likewise go “beyond traditional shipping” to explore LNG and offshore business opportunities, make practical use of Big Data, and improve fuel efficiency.
NYK also disclosed plans to reconfigure its business portfolio and “reinforce an asset-light strategy for containerships and dry-bulk carriers.” This will see its fleet size for container ships reduced from about 99 in March 2014 to about 85 by March 2019.
