Swire Shipping strengthens commitment to the Asia Pacific region with entry of its next generation of purpose-built vessels

March 24, 2020

MV Changsha to be deployed on South East Asia to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands route

Swire Shipping today announced the entry into service of its first 2400TEU newbuild vessel, MV Changsha. The vessel will be deployed on Swire Shipping’s South East Asia to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands service. Despite the uniquely challenging period the world faces, this deployment looks towards a brighter future and shows Swire Shipping’s strong and continuing commitment to the region.

MV Changsha is part of a wider order book of eight feeder container vessels (four 2,400TEU vessels and four 2,750TEU vessels) scheduled for delivery in 2020. This series of vessels has been designed to accommodate the needs of the region’s customers. Please see Appendix 1 for a list of features and benefits.

These vessels are part of a fleet renewal programme which began in 2015. During this renewal programme, 14 vessels will have been disposed of in total. Eleven of these vessels will have been sustainably recycled at approved ship recycling facilities under the Hong Kong Convention. The remaining three were sold for onward trading. The new modern eco-designed vessels will help Swire Shipping provide sustainable and innovative shipping solutions for its customers. The eight newbuild container vessels will join a fleet that includes eight 31,000DWT/ 2,118TEU multipurpose vessels (“S Class”) and four 22,000DWT/ 1,627TEU multipurpose vessels (“Chief Class”) delivered between 2013 and 2015.

Keeping vital supply chains going

“Like many other companies, we are very concerned about the global situation over COVID-19. However, we are also cognisant that vital supply chains must remain open with as little disruption as possible. The economies and livelihoods of the Pacific region are heavily reliant on seaborne trade. Our purpose as a company is to enrich lives by connecting our customers with the communities of the Pacific. The addition of MV Changsha and the remaining newbuilding vessels will enable us to achieve this and show our long-term commitment to our customers and the region,” said Mr Jeremy Sutton, General Manager, Swire Shipping.

Swire Shipping, added Mr Sutton, is focused on serving its customers well. Its fleet renewal programme shows its continued commitment to providing safe and reliable shipping services to these customers. Additionally, besides providing customers greater flexibility through a comprehensive suite of container, breakbulk and project cargo solutions, the newly launched e-commerce site (www.swireshipping.com) also enables customers to quickly search for information, obtain a quote and make a booking. “We want to save our customers’ time. Speed to market is important to our customers, and we want to enable that,” said Mr Sutton.