ONE Sets Second Load Record as it Completes ULCV Deliveries
Ocean Network Express (ONE) completed the delivery of its new class of ultra large container vessels and in the process of integrating the vessels into its route between Asia and Northern Europe has set two new records. These milestones come just six years after the company was formed by three of Japan’s leading shipping companies to strengthen their position in the market.
The company is completing the delivery and integration of six ultra-large containerships into its operation. The vessels were designed to increase the efficiency of handling containers with a capacity rating of 24,136 TEU. A unique design and a bow screen permit the loading of boxes further forward on the vessels onto the mooring deck. They also have the first application of a technology to stop brittle crack propagation in the ultra-thick, high-strength steel plates as part of the efforts to increase loading efficiency. The ships each have 24 rows for containers and a capacity for 2,000 refer units.
The result is the new vessels are setting records in the industry. The ships each measure 1,312 feet (399.95 meters) in length with a width of 201 feet (61.4 meters). They are registered in Liberia and have a capacity of 34 crewmembers.
The record however comes from the loading of the ships. The ONE Innovation, which was the first of the class joining the fleet in June 2023, two weeks ago achieved the largest load ever put on a containership. ONE reports that the vessel loaded 22,000 TEU while in Singapore on December 14. ONE is proudly announcing it is the second consecutive world-laden load record achieved by the same class of vessel.
This record comes just about a month after they set the prior record with another member of the class, the ONE Integrity. The first record was 21,954 TEUs loaded in Singapore on November 11 and 12. The ONE Innovation however took aboard 46 more boxes during her loading.
ONE Inspiration and her sister ship ONE Intelligence were delivered in December as the final ships of the class (Nihon)
The ship which was designed to be among the largest to transit the Suez Canal, however, was diverted during her current voyage. So, the record load is currently off the east coast of Africa on a voyage that will round the Cape of Good Hope. The ONE Innovation is expected to reach Rotterdam on January 15.
Following closely behind are their sister ships ONE Inspiration, which was delivered last month to the line, and now ONE Intelligence, which departed Japan on December 24 as the final ship of the six-ship group. They were ordered at the end of 2020 and built by Nihon Shipbuilding with the work split between Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United Corp. The last ship, ONE Intelligence, was built at Imbari’s Saijo yard and is on her way to Ningbo, China where she is due to arrive on December 28. She is owned by Shoei Kisen operating under a long-term charter to ONE and will now be integrated into the service to Northern Europe.
The ships are equipped with a 62,000 kW MAN B&W main engine that gives them a service speed of 22 knots. Their operating efficiency was improved with the shape of the bow bulb, fins, and a twisted rudder as well as a management system onboard. To reduce their environmental impact, they are equipped with a hybrid type EGCS SOx scrubber and outfitted to use shore power where it is available. Nihon reports that the ships achieved extremely high fuel efficiency for their type.
ONE today is the sixth-largest container carrier with a capacity of 1.8 million TEU and it is quickly rivaling Hapag-Lloyd. ONE currently has 232 vessels with an additional 33 on order which represents and further 400,000 TEU of capacity. When that capacity is added to the operation, it puts ONE and Hapag in a virtual tie according to Alphaliner’s current data for the fifth position in the container shipping sector.