Evergreen aims for Americas

Plans by Evergreen Marine Corp (Taiwan) to order another 25 container ships are likely to include vessels for the growing Central and South American trades.

A London spokesman for Evergreen said the Taiwanese shipping giant saw substantial potential growth in Central and South America after 2000.

He said 15 of the new ships, which Evergreen chairman Y.F. Chang said the group would order, would be large vessels for long-haul trades. The other 10 are likely to be 1,500-2,000 teu (20 ft equivalent units) vessels for Uniglory, which operates on inter-Asian routes.