MHI, Hakata to develop efficient 1,000 teu boxshipsMHI, Hakata to develop efficient 1,000 teu boxships

On Monday, the two companies received the first order for the container vessel for two units to be used for time chartering by Korea Marine Transport Company (KMTC).

The collaboration between MHI and Hakata Shipbuilding targets the development of a new fuel-efficient, high-performance, high-quality, low-cost vessel. Going forward the two companies intend to establish a framework advantageous for competing in the international feeder container ship market, as a way of expanding their businesses.

MHI will be responsible for hull form development and conceptual design of the container carrier while Hakata Shipbuilding will undertake aspects from the basic and detailed design through actual ship construction.

The two new vessels are scheduled to enter operations from October 2014.

“Going forward the two companies will further strengthen their proactive drive to create demand for new high-performance container carriers in Japan and other countries by combining MHI's technological development capacity with Hakata Shipbuilding's superior shipbuilding technology and operational experience in feeder container carriers,” MHI said in a statement.