Big Ships for APL
Created by HButler on 12/6/2011 4:40:55 PM
Singapore-based NOL Group christened the 350-meter APL Chongqing on Dec. 1 at shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan docks in South Korea.
The 10,000-TEU ship and its sister ship APL Gwangyang, which was slated to launch the following day, are the largest in the fleet of NOL's container shipping line, APL.
"Today marks a milestone," said Group CEO Ng Yat Chung during the ceremony. "We're upsizing and upgrading, and when we're done we'll have the strongest fleet in our company's 165-year history." APL plans to commission 32 new, large vessels by 2014 to maintain its competitiveness as ship sizes increase in the industry.
When NOL opened its Global Service Center in Chongqing, China, it proposed naming a ship after the Yangtze River metropolis. Wang Yi, president, Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, attended the christening, and Lisa Wang, an engineering consultant from Chongqing, served as godmother for the vessel.
The company said the new ships will consume less fuel and emit less exhaust than those they replace, despite their greater cargo capacity.
Both vessels will be deployed in the Asia-Europe trade.
