| Evergreen to replace older vessel in Asia Pacific– |
| Taiwanese carrier Evergreen announced on 30 June that it will replace an older L-type vessel in its Asia Pacific–South America service with a new unit. Taiwan’s CSBC Corporation (CSBC)-built Ever Lovely is the ninth of Evergreen’s L-type vessels. The ship is 334.8 m long, 45.8 m wide, and has a draft of 14.2 m, with a speed of up to 24.5 knots. The L-type vessels built by CSBC in 2015 are fitted with a brand new energy-saving bow, which enables the ships to reduce fuel consumption by 12–21% as well as emissions. By the end 2015, 15 of Evergreen’s L-type ships will be equipped with the improved feature. The carrier had also announced its plan to place orders for 20 3,000 teu container ships. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea, Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan, as well as China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC) in Taiwan are on the list for this USD700 million (USD35 million each ship) order. These new ships will be deployed for its Asia services, as Evergreen is optimistic that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes more than 3 billion population, a combined GDP of about USD17 trillion, as well as some 40% of world trade, will remove trade barriers and bring in more shipping demands within Asia. |