Taiwan Today
Date: May 9, 2016
Taiwan joined the global high-capacity container ship club May 5 following the launch of two
CSBC’s YM Window (left) and YM Width are flying the flag for Taiwan in the 14,000 TEUs segment of the international container ship market. (Courtesy of Kaohsiung City Government)
domestically developed and constructed vessels by state-backed shipbuilder CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung.
The YM Window and YM Width are 368 meters long, 51 meters wide and can carry 14,198, 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers. A 40-foot container—the most commonly used size—is around two TEUs.
CSBC Chairman Lai Sun-quae said the vessels are a significant step up from the company’s last batch of 10 container ships produced from 2011 to 2015 that could carry around 8,000 TEUs.
“Window and Width are quieter and more economical,” Lai said. “They are also easier to operate and boast a faster cruising speed of 23.3 nautical miles per hour, a number on par with rival vessels produced in South Korea.”
The improved performance of the ships will help ensure they do not fall prey to pirates off the coast of Somalia as was the case with Maersk Alabama, a vessel of around 1,000 TEUs constructed by CSBC in 1998. “Not many people know that it was our ship depicted in the 2013 box office hit ‘Captain Phillips’ starring Tom Hanks,” Lai said. [FULL STORY]
