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.