German ship-owner ER Schiffahrt has christened its first two 13,100TEU mega carriers in Ulsan, South Korea.
'ER Benedetta' and 'ER Cristina' will be commissioned on November 29 and December 20, and will fly the German flag. The ships were built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the largest shipyard in the world. At 366 metres long, 48.2 metres wide and 15.5 metres draught, they are among the largest container ships sailing the world's oceans today. Both freighters are on long-term charters to Mediterranean Shipping Company.
Despite their much greater transport capacity, mega carriers use approximately the same amount of fuel as 8,500TEU ships. The new generation of large container ships emits around 30 percent less CO2 per container than an 8,500TEU ship, saving liner-shipping companies around 30 percent in fuel costs. All of ER Schiffahrt's 13,100TEU ships can operate on low-sulphur fuel and have a Germanischer Lloyd Environmental Passport, meeting the latest technological and environmental standards to reduce emissions into both the atmosphere and water.
Due to the enormous size of the mega carriers, masters of these vessels will be receiving further training. Via intensive training in a high-tech simulator they will learn how to carry out manoeuvres in various wind and weather conditions. There will also be two cadets in each of the ship's 20-person crews.
Since 2002, ER Schiffahrt has ordered 79 ships, totalling more than US$5 billion, from Hyundai, which is working on a further six 13,100TEU sister ships for the company.