Turkon Line has deployed the 4,000-TEU Kaşif Kalkavan, Turkey’s first and largest domestically built LNG-fuelled containership, on its maiden voyage to India after the vessel’s first call at Marport in Istanbul, according to Turkon Line.
The ship entered service on 17 July on the carrier’s TRI route, linking Turkey, the Red Sea and western India with Turkon’s wider European and US network.
Kaşif Kalkavan is the first of two 4,000-TEU containerships being built for Turkon Line by Sedef Shipyard. The pair represents the carrier’s largest containership newbuilding programme and is expected to increase its service capacity by more than 50%.
The ABS-classed vessel is 199.95 metres long and 37.5 metres wide, has a service speed of 18 knots and capacity for 600 refrigerated containers. It can operate on LNG, marine gas oil, heavy fuel oil, very-low-sulphur fuel oil and ultra-low-sulphur fuel oil.
The ship is also equipped with selective catalytic reduction and scrubber systems for nitrogen oxide and sulphur emissions.
The vessel is named after the late Turkish shipowner Kaşif Kalkavan, whose family established the maritime businesses that later became part of Turkon Holding.
Turkon Line was founded by the Turkish Kalkavan family in 1997. The Istanbul-headquartered container carrier operates through 35 offices in 26 countries and calls at 40 ports across four continents.
Sedef Shipyard has operated within Turkon Holding since 2000. Turkon Holding is the parent organisation for the group’s shipping and shipbuilding activities.