May 30, 2018 - The ultra-large container ship COSCO Shipping Virgo has been delivered by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in China.
The 20,000-TEU vessel, which has a deck area as large as four football fields, is 400 meters long and has a maximum capacity of 200,000 tons. She has a molded beam and depth of 58.6 and 30.7 meters and will sail between the Middle East and Europe.
Earlier this year, Waigaoqiao delivered the 20,000-TEU COSCO Shipping Taurus. China’s first 20,000-TEU container ship COSCO Shipping Aries was built by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering and delivered in January.
Currently, there is around 80 container ships above 19,000 TEU worldwide, and 50 are under construction. China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Waigaoqiao's parent company, has 17 orders.
Drewry expects container ships of 18,000 TEU or more to comprise almost 40 percent of total TEU deliveries in 2018 and nearly 70 percent by 2020.
Source: Maritime Executive
