A Greek owner takes delivery of a new 5,300TEU vessel as an inland ship being built in China completes undergoing sea trials. Development is underway on a French hydrogen-powered boxship and a Chinese battery-equipped vessel. Three yards in China meanwhile secure significant newbuilding orders from customers in Singapore and Germany.
China's Shandong Xinneng Shipbuilding recently completed conducting the sea trials of a new container vessel designed for operation on inland waterways.
Jining Ganghang 9001 ("Jining Port and Shipping 9001") has an LOA of 90 metres, a beam of 16.56 metres, a depth of 5.4 metres, and a capacity of 161 TEUs. The two main engines and the generators all run on LNG supplied by a 30-cubic-metre fuel tank fitted at the stern.
The vessel is classed by China Classification Society.
China's Jiangxi Jiangxin Shipbuilding has begun construction on a new fully-electric container vessel ordered by local owner Ningbo Ocean Shipping.
The 127.8-metre-long vessel will be able to transport 740 TEUs and will be powered by 10 containerised batteries delivering a maximum speed of 11.5 knots. The vessel will also be fitted with PV panels to supply electrical power for loading and unloading while pierside.
Construction will be undertaken in compliance with China Classification Society rules.
Greek shipowner Navios Maritime Partners has taken delivery of a new container vessel built by Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard in Zhoushan, China.
The Liberian-flagged, 5,300TEU Navios Unite is one of two Navios container vessels that will be operated by Denmark's Unifeeder Group, a subsidiary of UAE port developer and operator DP World.
French maritime technology company Energy Observer, via its subsidiary EOConcept, has secured European Union funding for the development of a new container vessel powered by liquid hydrogen.
EOConcept launched the Energy Observer 2 project in 2022 with the aim of designing a cargo vessel with a significantly reduced carbon footprint. Known as EO2, the advanced demonstrator vessel will combine cutting-edge engineering and innovative technologies and is scheduled for completion by 2029.
German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has awarded contracts to two Chinese shipyards for a total of 24 new container vessels.
Of these, 12 newbuildings – each with a capacity of 16,800 TEUs – will be built by the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group. These units will be used to expand the capacity of services that are already in place. An additional 12 ships, each with a capacity of 9,200 TEUs, have been ordered from New Times Shipbuilding Company and will replace older units in the Hapag-Lloyd fleet that will be nearing the end of their service life in this decade.
Singapore shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) is accelerating the renewal of its fleet with an order for another five 9,000TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessels.
The vessels will be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China. Deliveries of all five ships to PIL are scheduled for 2027 and 2028.