Pacific International Lines (PIL) is accelerating its fleet renewal with an order for another five 9,000 TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel container ships.
The vessels will be built by one of China’s leading shipbuilders, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co. (Hudong-Zhonghua), with delivery expected in 2027 and 2028.
The newbuildings are designed with highly-optimised cargo stowage features which are expected to significantly enhance PIL’s service capabilities. They will also be built to achieve a high level of environmental sustainability. In addition to being LNG-powered, the vessels will be able to transition to running on bio-methane, one of the lowest emission fuels available to the shipping industry.
“With 18 newbuild vessels ordered in the last couple of years, PIL is demonstrating our commitment to renew, expand and modernise our fleet,” said Lars Kastrup, CEO of PIL. “We aim to replace up to half our fleet in the next decade with modern new ships and charters. These ships are a significant step towards our green shipping goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, while increasing operational and cost efficiencies, improving services to our customers as well as enhancing the welfare of our crew.”
Earlier this year in August, PIL had also ordered five LNG dual-fuel container vessels with 13,000 TEU capacity from Hudong-Zhonghua. Similar to the earlier orders, these new vessels will also be equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for real-time monitoring and automation of various tasks.
The ships will fully comply with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for newbuilds and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). They will feature energy-saving features such as a streamlined hull-form, variable-frequency drive (VFD) motors, shaft generators, lower-energy LED lightings as well as superior hull coatings.
With this latest order, PIL will have ordered a total of 18 newbuild vessels since 2022, including four 14,000 TEU, four 8,000 TEU, five 13,000 TEU, and five 9,000 TEU vessels.
Two of the 14,000 TEU vessels, Kota Eagle and Kota Emerald, were named in a ceremony on 15 October 2024.
