MOL recently took delivery of the world's largest containership, the 20,170 TEU MOL Triumph. At 400 metres long and with a beam of 58.8 metres, the vessel is the first of six new 20,000 TEU-class container ships for the company. The vessel will set off on her maiden voyage from Xingang, China sometime this month. It will sail to Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian and Singapore before it transits through the Suez Canal. The MOL Triumph will then continue on to Tangier, Southampton, Hamburg, Rotterdam and Le Havre before calling back at at Tangier and then Jebel Ali on the return voyage to Asia.

The new 20,000 TEU-class container ships are equipped with a variety of highly advanced energy-saving technologies, including low friction underwater paint, high efficiency propeller and rudder, Savor Stator as a stream fin on the hull body, and an optimised fine hull form. According to MOL, these technologies can further reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per container moved by about 25-30% when compared to 14,000 TEU-class containerships.

Additionally, the vessel has also been designed with the retrofit option to convert to LNG (liquified natural gas), in view of the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s new regulation to limit emission in marine fuels, which will come into effect in 2020.

MOL will take the delivery of the second 20,000 TEU-class vessel in May 2017.

Eventually there will be six of the 20,000 TEU-class containerships unveiled, and they will be phased in gradually on the existing trade routes of MOL.