Seaspan Goes Big with Supersize Order of 14,000 TEU Containerships

Photo: Signing Ceremony with Seaspan (Mr. Lee Jai-seong (fourth from left), president & CEO of Hyundai Heavy; Mr. Gerry Wang (fifth from left), CEO & co-chairman of Seaspan Corp.; Mr. Kyle Washington (sixth from left), co-chairman of Seaspan Corp.)

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) announced today the signing of a newbuild contract with Vancouver-based Seaspan Corp. for five 14,000 TEU containerships, including an exercisable option for five more.

Over the past year, Hyundai Heavy has won every ultra-large containership newbuild order worldwide.

These container ships, measuring 368 m in length, 51 m in width, and 30 m in depth, are scheduled to be delivered from 2015 onward. Upon delivery, the vessels will be chartered to Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp on a long-term contract.

The containerships will feature an electronically-controlled main engine and HiBallast seawater treatment system. The electronically-controlled main engine will maximize fuel efficiency, reduce noise, vibrations, and carbon emissions by automatically controlling fuel consumption to suit sailing speed and sea conditions.

The HiBallast system is a seawater treatment system HHI developed in 2011. HiBallast can treat 8,000 cbm of seawater per hour by filtering and sterilizing bacteria and plankton bigger than 50 microns through electrolysis.

In 2013, Hyundai Heavy set an annual new orders target of USD 29.7 billion, up 52.3% from a year earlier, and aims to achieve sales of KRW 26. 9 trillion (USD 25.4 billion), 7.1% up against the previous year.