APL expands fleet and adds to Transpacific route
Charter of five  new 7000 teu container ships
 

APL, the container transportation arm of Neptune Orient Lines, has signed a charter agreement for five new post-Panamax container vessels.

The ships will each have a nominal capacity of 7,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and will be deployed in the Transpacific trade from 2009.

APL CEO, Ron Widdows, said: “Growth in the Transpacific has consistently exceeded industry expectations. The relationship between ship supply and demand in the trade is forecast to narrow between 2007 and 2009. These vessels will enter service at a point that additional capacity will be required. They will help us to achieve our plans to enhance our Transpacific service offering, and ensure we continue to provide customers with the rapid supply chain fulfilment and the delivery certainty they demand.”

The vessels are being built at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and will be chartered for five years from German owners, Bernhard Schulte.

Bob Sappio, APL’s Senior Vice President for the Transpacific trade, said: “APL’s Transpacific network is known for its reliability and high level of service delivery. These vessels will enable us to further enhance our service offering and provide us with cost efficient growth.”

In the near term, APL will introduce seven container ships into its fleet in 2007, raising its capacity by around 10%. APL’s fleet currently comprises 110 vessels.