APL names newest container vessel at the Port of Los Angeles
NOL's shipping division APL on Friday, October 4th held an official naming ceremony for its new 9,200-TEU containership APL Savannah at the Port of Los Angeles, the NOL's press release said.
The APL Savannah is the fifth in a series of twelve 9,200-TEU vessels to be delivered to APL, the container shipping arm of Singapore-based shipping and logistics company Neptune Orient Lines (NOL). She is also the first containership to be named and christened at the Port of Los Angeles.
APL Savannah and her sister ships are the largest in the APL fleet to ply the Trans-Pacific trade between Asia and the U.S. on the South Asia Express (SAX) service, rotating ports in San Pedro, Busan, Kaohsiung, Chiwan, Yantian and Singapore.
APL said the new 9,200-TEU series of vessels is designed for greater operational efficiency and more environmentally-sustainable operations. For example, an optimised hull form reduces hull resistance and results in less fuel consumed for propulsion.
Its fuel efficiency, measured by the Energy Efficiency Design Index, is certified to be 30.54% better than guidelines set by the International Maritime Organisation. By consuming less fuel, the ships will also emit less exhaust.
The state of California has mandated cold-ironing for container ships by 2014. At that time, half of a carrier’s fleet must rely on shore power when berthed in California ports. APL was the first carrier to shut down, or, “cold-iron,” a vessel’s engines to eliminate exhaust emissions in Oakland in mid-2011.
APL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses.