THE Schulte Group has taken delivery of the 8,948-TEU Jonhana Schulte, the second of three wide, similar-sized neo-panamax ships ordered in September 2010 from Jiangnan Changxing shipyard and chartered as the MSC Arbatax.

The ship has anchored off Shanghai while awaiting her first service assignment. MSC had advertised the ship to different destinations including the Middle East, Med, South Africa, South America and the US, reports Alphaliner.

The ship follows the MSC Antalya, delivered as Judith Schulte in July. The last ship, MSC Alegciras (formerly the Joseph Schulte) is fitting out.

The three ships are part of an MSC programme of handy neo-panamaxes of 8,700-9,500-TEU, which now reaches 40 units after the recent wave of orders that are backed by MSC charters. Most of these ships have a high reefer capacity (1,000 reefer plugs or more).

They are ideal for the South America trades or for sectors with physical restrictions, due to their shorter lengths.