NYK Orders 8 New 4,900 TEU Container Ships
November 8, 2004
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has decided to order building of eight new 4,900 TEU* container ships (65,000 Deadweight Tonnage with a service speed of 25 knots) from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in South Korea, scheduled for completion in FY2007.
This new order follows the order in December 2003 of eight large 8,100 TEU container ships scheduled for completion from FY2006 to FY2007. With this newly-built fleet of vessels, the Company will respond to the increasing demand for container cargo transport.
The new container ships ordered this time are the largest class able to pass through the Panama Canal and are highly practical due to their ability to navigate a wide range of shipping routes. Through the orders of new vessels and a series of ship maintenance activities, the Company will enhance the transport quality of the container services and also fortify its competitive edge in the market.
Eight new container ships will be provided in succession to the Grand Alliance** of which NYK is a member.
| * TEU: | Unit indicating number of containers in vessel's capacity. One container of 20 feet is counted as 1 TEU (Twenty Feet Equivalent Unit). |
| **Grand Alliance: | The world largest service network of container ships, composed of the five global container transport companies of Hapag Lloyd (Germany), MISC (Malaysia), OOCL (Hong Kong), P&O Nedlloyd (the Netherlands) and NYK. |