[250412.EN.SEA] UASC Takes Delivery Of Eighth Of Nine 13,000-TEUers From Samsung

KUWAIT's United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has taken delivery of its eighth 13,500-TEU containership, the Al Qibla, during a naming ceremony at Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard.

"The ships are living up to expectations and are providing substantial savings, which, combined with recent freight increases, have resulted in a substantial improvement for UASC," said CEO Jorn Hinge.

Said UASC chairman Othman Ibrahim Al-Issa: "Al Qibla takes her name after a city in my homeland Kuwait, and her name carries a special spiritual meaning as well, in the Arabic language it means the direction towards which we turn for prayer."

This almost completes the US$1.5 billion Samsung order of nine 13,000-TEU ships placed in 2008. Seven have already entered service on routes between the Far East, Arabian Gulf, Red Sea and northern Europe on the AEC8 and AEC2 and AGX1 services.

The naming ceremony was attended by Kuwait's ambassador to South Korea Mr Muteb Al-Mutoteh, Samsung's senior management, several UASC executives and financial partners.

The investment in the 13,000-TEUers is expected to yield important economies of scale, allowing UASC to compete more effectively in key trades, said the company statement. The new bigger ships will reduce UASC's per TEU cost and will place the shipping line in a stronger position vis-a-vis rivals, said UASC, which owns and operates 48 containerships.

Source : HKSG.