MSC expands LNG-powered container ship fleet

 

Last weekend, MSC took delivery of two new vessels: the 16,000 TEU MSC SAVANNAH from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, and the 11,480 TEU MSC INSA from Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard (ZCIS).

The MSC SAVANNAH is the eighth unit in a series of twelve LNG-powered 16,000 TEU sister ships that MSC ordered from YZJ in October 2022. 

The vessel will be deployed on the Far East-Europe ‘Albatros’ loop, which is primarily operated with ‘M-NPX’ ships ranging from 12,000 to 16,000 TEU. MSC recently extended this loop, which already includes a Baltic call at Gdynia, to also serve the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.

The MSC INSA is the second in a series of ten ‘CIMC ORIC 11500 LNG’ type vessels that ZCIS will deliver to MSC through 2026. These were ordered in early 2023, reportedly at around $120 million per unit. 

Each ship in the series is equipped with a single type-C LNG fuel tank, though further technical specifications — such as reefer capacity and homogeneous intake — have yet to be disclosed.

MSC INSA will join her sister vessel, MSC LEILA, in the Far East-ECSA ‘Carioca’ service, operated by a mixed fleet of vessels ranging from 6,500 to 11,000 TEU.

With these deliveries, MSC’s active LNG fleet is now approaching 60 vessels — representing almost one-third of the global LNG-powered container ship fleet by vessel count, second only to CMA CGM’s 70+ LNG-equipped units, said a report by Alphaliner.

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