ONE Celebrates Naming of First Owned Newbuild as Expansion Proceeds
Ocean Network Express (ONE) formed just eight years ago today marked the next milestone in its rapid emergence as one of the major carriers. The company celebrating the naming of its newest containership ONE Sparkle (138,000 dwt) which it reports is the first owned and operated newbuild for the company.
"The naming of ONE Sparkle represents another important milestone for ONE,” said Jeremy Nixon, CEO. “This vessel is our first owned newbuilding, and it also showcases our commitment to sustainable shipping with its innovative design and alternative fuel capabilities. As we expand our owned fleet, these advanced vessels will play a crucial role in meeting our environmental targets while enhancing our service reliability."
The company was established in 2017 through the integration of the container operations of K-Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), and NYK Group. The first sailing was in 2018 and by its fifth anniversary, the company was highlighting had more than 165 services connecting 120 countries. Today, the fleet is up to 255 ships with a capacity of 1.97 million TEU placing ONE sixth on Alphaliner’s ranking of the largest carriers.
Nixon in 2022 mapped out the second stage of growth for the company reporting plans to invest $20 billion by 2030. He said the time had come for the company to begin placing its own orders for newbuilds and to own its ships. By 2030, Nixon said that they would contract for a total capacity of 1.2 million TEU, but approximately half of that would be replacements for existing capacity. AlphaLiner calculates the company currently has 47 vessels on order representing 610,558 TEU of capacity. In 2023, ONE also joined with the investment group as Seaspan was taken private. They operate OneSea Solutions as the ship management company which is jointly owned by ONE and Seaspan.
ONE Sparkle was part of an order for new ships being built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and a parallel order placed with Nihon in Japan. Nixon said today during the naming for the new ship that it is part of a series of 20 large ammonia/methanol-ready vessels that will be built in Korea and Japan and scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026.
ONE Sparkle has a capacity of approximately 13,800 TEU and it is 1,00 feet (335 meters) in length. Among the advanced environmental features is the design enabling the future conversion to methanol or ammonia as its fuel. The hull design was also optimized for improved energy efficiency and it is outfitted with the latest energy-saving devices. Integrated smart technology will ensure optimal vessel performance. It also has the capability to employ shore power. The ship was classed by ABS and is registered in Singapore.
The new vessel is due to head out on its final sea trials in a week before her handover. Once delivered, ONE says the vessel will strengthen its competitive position in the service it is deployed to, and showcase the company’s commitment to sustainable shipping practices.
The company continues to grow its operations announcing new routes trans-Atlantic as well as Far East to South America and using ports such as Vietnam. It is also set to take a major role in the reformulated Premier Alliance that went effective this month. The cooperation between ONE, HMM, and Yang Ming is going it alone after Hapag-Lloyd withdrew to start its new cooperation with Maersk.