Eimskip signs a contract for building of two new container vessels in China
Eimskip has been in negotiations with shipyards in China in relation to building of two 2,150 TEU container vessels, the company said in its press release. The company has finalized a contract with China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited and Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard Co. Ltd. The contract price of each vessel is approximately USD 32 million and the vessels are expected to be delivered in 2019. The contract is subject to financing and Eimskip is working on securing the funding of the vessels. Royal Arctic Line has also signed a contract of building one vessel of the same type with the same shipyard.
The new vessels will have an ice class and will be designed in accordance with the Polar Code. The vessels will have an overall length of 180 meters, breadth of 31 meters and they will have a TIER III engine which is especially built to lower Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emission into the atmosphere. The vessels will increase efficiency and service reliability as they are larger than current vessels in the trade and will be well equipped to sail in the North Atlantic. They will consume less fuel per container unit compared to older vessels, with lower emission due to a built-in scrubber system which minimizes Sulphur Oxide (SOx) emission into the atmosphere. Larger and more economical vessels will result in lower operational cost per container unit.
Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line have been forming and evaluating a framework for potential cooperation of sharing capacity. The parties have now signed an agreement for the cooperation, subject to notification to and confirmation from the relevant competition authorities if applicable. Further information will be published once it becomes available.
About Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line A/S was founded in 1993 and is wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The Government of Greenland has given Royal Arctic Line A/S sole concession on sea transport of cargo to and from Greenland and among Greenlandic towns and settlements. This has made the company a lifeline for Greenlandic society. Royal Arctic Line also operates 13 ports in Greenland.
About Eimskip
Eimskip is a leading transportation company in the North Atlantic with connections to international markets and is specialized in worldwide freight forwarding services, with the vision of providing excellence in transportation solutions and services. Eimskip was founded in 1914 and is a publicly traded company with its shares listed at Nasdaq Iceland. The company runs a network of 60 offices in 20 countries, operates 20 vessels and has around 1,680 employees. Approximately half of the company’s revenue comes from operations outside Iceland.
Eimskip has been an agent for Royal Arctic Line since 1993. In 2016, the cooperation was extended by appointing TVG-Zimsen, Eimskip’s subsidiary, a forwarder of air-freight and trucking for Royal Arctic Line in Europe.