China Shipping launches largest container ship

China Shipping Container Lines Co launched its largest container ship, CSCL Globe, on its maiden voyage at Tianjin Port on Tuesday.

CSCL Globe, built by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries, can carry 19,100 twenty equivalent-unit containers.

The ship will call at ports including Qingdao, Shandong province; Dalian, Liaoning province; Felixstowe, England; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Hamburg, Germany during its 70-day voyage.

"The maiden voyage of CSCL Globe marks Chinese shipping industry making a step toward the international stage," said Xu Lirong, chairman of China Shipping (Group) Co.

The ship, which cost about $150 million, is 400 meters in length and 60 meters wide, with a designed draft of 14.5 meters.

Xu said CSCL has ordered five such ships, with the Globe being the first built.

"The new ship is also developing the practices needed to achieve low-emissions operating. It will save 20 percent in fuel consumption, compared with a ship that carries around 10,000 containers."

CSCL, as one of the largest global container shipping companies, offers nearly 80 shipping routes to major international and domestic destinations covering Asia, Europe, America, West Africa and Australia.

According to statistics from CSCL, up to mid-2014, the company's 148 container ships were capable of carrying 656,000 TEU.

Eighty-three of the 148 ships can carry more than 4,000 TEU and account for 86.4 percent of the company's total capacity.