Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) said five ships it will build for China Shipping Container Lines will be capable of carrying 18,400 TEUs.
The ships would appear to be even larger than the 20 "Triple E" ships being built by DSME shipyard for Maersk Line, which Maersk has said will have a capacity of 18,000 TEUs.
Hyundai said the order from China Shipping is valued at $700 million.
China Shipping's ships will feature an electronically-controlled main engine that Hyundai said will maximize fuel efficiency, and reduce noise, vibrations, and carbon emissions by automatically controlling fuel consumption to suit sailing speed and sea conditions.
The ships will also have an "EcoBallast" system that will be able to treat 3,000 cubic meters of ballast water by filtering and sterilizing bacteria and plankton bigger than 50 µm with ultraviolet rays.
Hyundai said the new containerships, measuring 400 meters in length, 58.6 meters in width and 30.5 meters in depth, are scheduled to be handed over from the second half of 2014.
With this order, the Ulsan, South Korea-based shipbuilder said it has won orders for 10 ultra-large containerships this year, including five 14,000-TEU containerships from Seaspan Corp. in January.
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