Maersk has signed an agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. in Korea for the delivery of 16 container vessels in 2010-12. The vessels have individual capacities of 7,450 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and they are equipped with reefer plugs enabling them to carry 1,700 refrigerated containers each. This is claimed to be the highest number ever carried on a container vessel.
The ships are designed to meet the highest demands for safe and economic transportation of goods in the trade to and from the East Coast of South America. In addition, each vessel is equipped with a waste heat recovery system. The system reuses excess heat from the exhaust and thus generates energy for propulsion of the vessel or on-board electricity consumption. The reduction in fuel consumption results in a corresponding reduction of emissions.
Maersk Line expects to deploy the 16 vessels in the trades between the East Coast of South America and Asia and Europe. Brazil and Argentina, especially, have fast growing consumer markets. In the last five years, the trade between Asia and the East Coast of South America has grown more than 20% per year on average. In the next five years, growth is expected to remain in the double digits.
The trade between the East Coast of South America and Europe is primarily driven by the export of food products such as poultry, meat, and fruit transported in refrigerated containers. Since 2002, the trade has grown 15% on a yearly average. This growth is expected to remain strong with increased containerisation opportunities in the coming years.