China to build container vessels for Russia

The Russian JSC Far Eastern Sea Shipping Company (DVMP) has signed a contract with the Chinese Jinling Shipyard, Nanjing, on construction of four container vessels with a deadweight of 1,760 tons and a capacity of 1,080 containers each, RIA Novosti learned from the company's press service.

The works in the shipyard are scheduled to start in January 2005, the vessels will be put in commission in March, September, November and December 2006 respectively. The vessels will be highly automated. The designed maximum speed is 19.6 knots. They will become the company's fastest vessels and will be used in international routes.

The project will be partially financed by loans. Largest Western banks have already announced their willingness to participate.

"The shipyard we are working with has accumulated good experience in building container vessels, including with the specifications we need. Moreover, the specifications were worked out by German designers and ship builders and the Chinese shipyard is used only as a tool to fulfill the project," the company's general director Yevgeny Ambrosov said.

The company has also supplemented its container park with 1,600 new 20-feet dry containers. Their first lot has already been delivered to cargo carriers. The new containers will be used mostly at the shipment market of the Asian-Pacific region and between North American ports.

DVMP is one of Russia's largest shipping companies. It ships cargoes between ports in the Far East, Chukotka, Sakhalin and Kamchatka, as well as in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Its key shareholders are the Promyshlennye Investory group with a 65-% stake and the government with a 20-% stake.