Seatrade-Maritime: CU Lines makes size jump with 14,000 teu container ship order

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding sealed a construction contract for two 14,000 teu large container ships with the fast-growing Chinese international container liner operator China United Lines.

The two 14,000 teu boxships represent CU Lines first newbuilds exceeding 10,000 teu capacity and will bring it into line with top intra-Asian lines Pacific International Lines and Wan Hai Lines in terms of the largest vessels in its fleet.

Aligned with its route expansion strategy, CU Lines keeps expanding and upgrading its fleet, lifting the share of owned tonnage and refining its capacity mix.

Established in 2005, CU Lines has built a comprehensive container transport network covering mainland’s coastal ports, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, the Red Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, East Africa, North Africa and more markets.

The contracted vessels feature an in-house design independently developed by Hudong-Zhonghua. Each ship measures 335 meters in overall length, with a moulded breadth of 51 meters, moulded depth of 30.2 meters and a design speed of 21 knots and powered by conventional propulsion.

The vessel is fitted with proven energy-saving equipment including twisted bulb rudders and energy-saving ducts. Variable frequency technology is deployed for engine room fans and seawater cooling pumps.