Taiwan's Evergreen Maritime Corp. now has one of world's largest container ships

Thursday, 12 August 2021

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — One of the world's largest container ships, the "Ever Ace", successfully berthed at Taipei Port on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 8) as part of the ship's maiden voyage.

At 400 meters long, the Evergreen Marine Corp.-operated ship has a capacity of 24,000 20-foot containers and is the largest container ship ever accommodated by an international harbor in Taiwan, according to sources cited in a CNA report.

The ship, whose deck is equivalent to four football pitches, docked at around 4 p.m., and was welcomed by a water cannon salute as a ceremonial gesture for her maiden voyage, per CNA.

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Ever Ace was made by South Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industries for around NT$4.17 billion (US$150 million) and was handed over to Evergreen Marine Corp. on July 29 . The Taoyuan-based transportation conglomerate has ordered 11 more container ships from Samsung as well as Chinese manufacturers Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipbuilding, which are due to arrive by the end of 2024, according to a TVBS report.

Ever Ace can convey up to 3,000 more 20-foot containers than “Ever Given”, the Evergreen-operated ship that blocked the Suez Canal earlier this year. Like the Ever Given, the mega carrier will also be traversing shipping routes between Asia and Northern Europe.

The recent surge in demand for freight shipping has led to an uptick in cargo ship construction, though the global shipping shortage is likely to last through to next year, according to industry reports.

"Currently, the price of international containers going from U.S. east coast, west coast or from Europe has exceeded US$10,000 (NT$ 278,472),” says TVBS reporter Hung Chun-wei. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, an indicator reflecting the fluctuation of freight rates on containers from Shanghai and used to measure the markets around China, also rose by 96.24 points from last week, he adds.

News Source : https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4266759