Jan.16--TAIWAN's biggest shipping line Evergreen Marine is to undergo a major fleet expansion plan in which the company will bring in a total of twenty 11,000 TEU containerships, made up of eight newbuildings and another 12 vessels on charter, according to Singapore's Splash 24/7.
The containerised-freight shipping line's two subsidiaries, Greencompass Marine and Evergreen Marine (Hong Kong), will each order four 11,000 TEU newbuildings and charter six vessels of the same type.
The total price of the newbuildings is estimated between US$744 million and $800 million.
It's not known where or who will build the boxships. But, according to Evergreen the shipyards to construct the newbuildings will be chosen among compatriot shipyard CSBC, Japanese yards Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United, as well as South Korean yards Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, according to Evergreen.
In October last year, Evergreen announced a new share issue plan to raise TWD7.65 billion ($258 million) to be used for fleet optimisation and debt repayment.
Evergreen joined the Ocean Alliance in 2016 and the company currently operates a fleet of 105 boxships with another 22 newbuildings under construction.