MOL orders two 8,600-TEU ships, charters five 14,000-TEUers

MOL has announced an order for two 8,600-TEU newbuildings from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to be delivered 2013. Along with eight 8,100-TEU ships already in operation, the new vessels will be deployed on the Asia-Europe trades.

The company has also reached an agreement with the NOL group for a three-year charter of five large containerships out of the ten 14,000-TEU vessels NOL has on order. The five chartered ships will be delivered between 2013 and 2014 and they will serve with the other five vessels operated by NOL`s container shipping arm, APL, on the Asia-Europe routes.


"Expansion of the fleet will secure needed capacity on the east-west route, and allow us to provide high-quality, competitive services," an MOL statement said. It said the company "is reviewing the need for an expansion of the fleet on not only east-west trades but also all other routes for the benefit of our customers," said CEO Junichiro Ikeda.