Hanjin Orders Ultra-Large Container Ships

Asia Pulse has reported that Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea's leading shipping company, has placed an order for ultra-large container carriers, the company said today, as the global industry competes to secure bigger-capacity ships. It is the first time a local shipper has placed such an order. Hanjin Shipping ordered five units of 10,000-TEU-class container carriers from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's No. 2 shipyard, the company said. TEU stands for 20-foot-equivalent unit. The five ships, each large enough to contain 9,954 units of 20-foot containers, will operate on a trans-Pacific route beginning in February of 2010, the company said. Currently, the biggest container carrier available is an 11,000-TEU-class ship that AP Moller-Maersk, the largest container shipping company worldwide, plans to put into service next month.