Recently, a naming ceremony was held for three 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, ZIM Fuji, ZIM Kilimanjaro and ZIM Olympus, which were built by Samsung Heavy Industries for Seaspan, a subsidiary of Atlas.
The three vessels named are part of an order for 10 15,000 TEU series container ships signed by Samsung Heavy Industries with Seaspan in 2021, with a total order value of KRW 1.1 trillion. With an overall length of 366 meters, a breadth of 51 meters and a design speed of 22.5 knots, the series of vessels are equipped with the latest technology to support decarbonization targets and are expected to reduce emissions by 23 percent.
The new vessel is said to have signed a $1.8 billion long-term charter agreement with Israeli’s ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. The first vessel, ZIM Sammy Ofer, was named and delivered in February 2023 and will be the first ZIM LNG carrier to call on the US East Coast. Two other vessels, the ZIM Mount Everest and the ZIM Mount Blanc, were named in April this year, and the ZIM Mount Denali in June. On August 30, the fifth vessel in the series, IM Mount Rainier, was delivered.
Seaspan says that LNG is currently the most viable clean-burning fuel and an important step in the transition to low-carbon fuels for deep-sea container shipping. Bio-LNG and e-methane provide a way for ships to easily meet the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2050 targets.