Acquisition of two modern wide-beam vessels for first deployment in the South American business / Two more identical ships chartered / Four efficient wide-beam vessels chartered for Mediterranean–Canada service
Hapag-Lloyd has today taken delivery of two modern 3,500-TEU ships with a special wide-beam design from the Dutch shipping company NileDutch. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price of the two vessels, which are to be initially deployed in South America.
The wide-beam design of the hull means that the ships, which were built in 2015, maintain a comparatively high slot capacity despite having a lower draught, thereby making them particularly well suited for ports with shallow water as for example some South American ports. Hapag-Lloyd is also chartering two more identical ships from NileDutch’s same series, both of which will be deployed together with their sister ships.
NileDutch container ship Representative image: NileDutch
“For Hapag-Lloyd, these state-of-the-art and highly efficient vessels represent an important enhancement of the fleet,” said Anthony J. Firmin, COO of Hapag-Lloyd. “Alongside our market leadership in certain trades, such as the Atlantic, we also strengthen our position in an attractive niche market further such as the cabotage business in South America, where we will be initially deploying the new vessels.”
In order to reinforce Hapag-Lloyd’s leading position in the North Atlantic, four more wide-beam ships are being chartered in to the Hapag-Lloyd fleet for services between the Mediterranean and Montreal, Canada. The highly efficient ships, which are two years old and have an operating capacity of some 2,700 TEU, will replace the existing, older tonnage. They are equipped for sailing through ice and also have a comparatively low draught, which is an advantage for travelling on the St. Lawrence River. This further strengthens Hapag-Lloyd’s market leading position in Canada.
Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet currently comprises 177 ships and, at around 7.2 years, has a low, competitive average age. The average vessel size at Hapag-Lloyd exceeds the industry average as well as that of the top ten competitors.
Source: Hapag Lloyd