Graig Group, the British shipowner, ship design and ship services firm, has ordered up to 26 feeder container ships from mainland shipbuilder Jinhai Heavy Industry, to take advantage of a boom forecast in intra-Asia trade.
Chris Williams, commercial director of Graig Shipping, said that the initial order was worth about US$180 million for six of the newly designed Marlin 2000 Blue 2,000 teu containerships.
Williams added that Graig had until later this year to declare options for a further 20 ships but these could be smaller or larger than the first six.
The Marlin range of vessels, which have been designed by Graig in association with Wartsila Ship Design, have similar basic features but vary in cargo-carrying capacity between 1,100 and 4,000 teu and could be equipped with different fuel systems, including liquefied natural gas.
Williams said that even using normal fuel oil, the vessels would be up to 30 per cent more fuel-efficient than conventional ships while carrying 20 per cent more containers.
Graig has dubbed the Marlin 2000 ships Bangkok-max because of their shallow draft and narrow beam, making them suitable to sail into draft-restricted ports in Bangkok and other Asian ports.