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‘K’ Line to add five 8,600 TEU ships on Europe route, Honolulu Bridge first ship

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (‘K’ Line) will deploy five large container carriers between Asia and Europe this year as part of efforts to enhance efficiency, according to Nikkei Report. The new vessels are all 8,600 TEU containerships built by IHI Marine United. The first one, a 335m-long carrier called Honolulu Bridge, was completed in late January. Four more are expected to be completed later this year. Their prices are estimated to be higher than the current going rates because orders were placed in 2008, before the financial crisis triggered by the Lehman Brothers collapse. Kawasaki Kisen will operate the 8,600-TEU container carriers as the standard model for its European service to "even out transport space and improve sales and operation efficiency," said a company official. With the additions of the five ships, the firm will operate 13 of the same model by the end of the year. It will cancel short-term charter vessels, maintaining the size of its fleet at around 80. The Japanese firm is a member of the CKYH Green Alliance, which includes China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (Cosco) and South Korea's Hanjin Shipping. The joint operation with Taiwan's Evergreen Marine on European service will begin in April.