As reported by the Asian Shipper, on May 1st, APL Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, received the 10,700-TEU APL SOUTHAMPTON vessel. This is the first vessel out of a six-ship order, which will be carried out by Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in two stages.
Moreover, as confirmed by the company the order forms part of an initial eight 10,000-TEU ship program split. In addition, the APL SOUTHAMPTON will join the new G6 Asia-Europe Loop 4.
The company said the vessels form part of an initial eight 10,000-TEU ship program split between two shipyards (four each at DSME and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in June 2007, and later boosted to 10 ships in August 2010 with two additional units ordered at DSME.
The HHI ships are somewhat smaller than the DSME units, at 10,070 TEU. Three out of the four HHI-built vessels have been delivered since December, and the last, the APL QINGDAO, is expected to be delivered next month.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, May 4, 2012