The Japanese container ship business, Ocean Network Express (ONE), has officially launched its first container ship at Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan. The 14,000 TEU vessel ‘ONE Minato’ is scheduled for delivery in December 2018.
ONE is the result of an integration of the container operations of three Japanese shipping carriers, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd (K Line), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd (MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK). ONE announced the official commencement of its container shipping businesses on 1 April 2018.
The new joint-venture seeks to provide higher quality and more competitive services, responding to the imbalance of supply and demand in the container shipping industry which has struggled in recent years due to a decline in the container growth rate and the rapid influx of newly built vessels.
The alliance will operate around 230 vessels with a combined 1,440,000 TEU fleet size. The ships will provide 85 service loops at over 200 ports in 100 countries.
