THE first 8,530-TEU containership, of which China owns the full intellectual property rights, had been delivered to China Shipping Container Lines (Shanghai) and left for its maiden voyage to the United States on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
It has made China the fourth country in the world, after the Republic of Korea, Japan and Denmark that can design and build mega containerships, said experts. The ship, named the New Asia, is the first of five containerships of the same type to be designed and built by Shanghai's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the China Shipping Container Lines.
The 101,000-dwt containership, 335 metre long and 42.8 metres wide, can sail at a speed of 25 knots an hour.
The shipyard spent six years to build the ship, the largest containership independently designed and built by China. It is one of the mainstream types of containerships in the world.
So far the company has confirmed nine orders for its 8,530-TEU containerships, including four for the Greek Costamare Shipping Co.
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