On December 29, a 24,000 TEU containership ordered by Taiwan’s Evergreen Group was launched at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s Changxing Shipbuilding Base.
This is the first ship from a series of six identical 24,000 TEU units being built for Evergreen by a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
Back in November 2019, the Taiwanese owner ordered four 23,000 TEU boxships. The newbuilds were subsequently upgraded to 24,000 TEU.
In June 2021, Evergreen placed an order for two more identical sister vessels.
The newbuild features a length of 399.99 meters, a width of 61.5 meters, and a draft of 33.2 meters.
Equipped with a hybrid scrubber system, it adopts the latest technology in terms of environmental protection, energy saving, efficiency and safety, according to the shipbuilder.
All six ships will have a specific bow design, large-diameter propellers, and energy-saving ducts to ensure low energy consumption.
Evergreen Marine has been on a major fleet rejuvenation campaign as it strives for “a completely sustainable” life cycle for its vessels — from design, construction, operation and ultimately to decommissioning.
In September 2021, it ordered 24 containerships at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company Limited. The order comprises eleven 3,000 TEU vessels, eleven 2,300 TEU ships, and two units a capacity of 1,800 TEU.
What is more, in March this year, Evergreen placed an order for the construction of twenty 15,000 TEU boxships at South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI).
The Evergreen series of ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) have been independently designed by Hudong Zhonghua. In 2020, the shipbuilder transformed the No. 1 dock of the Changxing Shipbuilding Production Base to be able to build the 24,000 TEU behemoths more efficiently.
Hudong-Zhonghua is currently building 19 large containerships slated for delivery by 2025.