Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai, China has inked an order for a new generation of 3,800-teu ro-ro containerships from New Jersey-based Atlantic Container Line (ACL).
ACL’s president and chief executive Andrew Abbot declines to reveal the price paid for the newbuildings but says that is well below the $140m to $150m each.
The newbuildings, designed by Danish naval architects Knud E Hansen, will be delivered in 2015.
Big design improvements including a streamlined hull and reconfiguration of layout, whereby cargo replaces ballast, means that fuel efficiency is claimed to have doubled.