A.P. MOLLER NAMES 21ST MEGA-CONTAINERSHIP

A.P. MOLLER NAMES 21ST MEGA-CONTAINERSHIP    A.P. Moller, the Danish group that owns Maersk Sealand and Odense Steel Shipyard, has named another new containership of 6,600-TEU capacity, the Chastine Maersk.
   The ship is the 21st large containership built by the group’s shipyard for Maersk Sealand in the last five years
   Like the last 14 of its predecessors, the vessel is 347 meters long and 43 meters wide.
   After delivery in February, the Chastine Maersk will enter Maersk Sealand’s worldwide service network.
   Maersk Sealand announced recently that it has ordered another four big “S-class” containerships from the Odense shipyard, extending to 25 the series of vessels of more than 6,000 TEUs that started with the Regina Maersk in 1996. The next batch of four 6,600-TEU vessels will be delivered in 2002.
   According to industry sources, the actual capacity of the big “S-class” ships is 7,100 TEUs, rather than the 6,600-TEU intake declared by Maersk Sealand.