Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" Line) has reached agreements with shipbuilders to build four next generation car carrier vessels.
Participating shipbuilders are Shin Kurushima Dockyard and Japan Marine United Corporation, with each company building two vessels respectively.
"We have spent considerable length of time studying and investigating the most suitable next generation car carrier with shipyards," commented "K" Line.
"These vessels will feature some of the widest beams ever built, around 37-38 metres, with each ship boasting a capacity of 7,500 units. Further, the length of the vessel is kept at 200 metres, preserving the ability to call at any port.
"The 37-38 metre beam has come as a result of a series of simulation tests, exploring both better stability of the vessel and better fuel efficiency at the same time. These new vessels will also be equipped with "CAUL" to mitigate wind pressure for optimum fuel consumption.
"These four ships will replace existing aged tonnage. It is our estimation that the car transport market and RoRo cargo market will steadily grow, so we will continue to develop our fleet to deliver value added efficiency and capability of handling an even wider variety of cargo mix to assure our services successfully meet the needs of our valued customers," the company concluded.
Delivery of this quartet of new ships will take place in 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.