THE 18,270-TEU newbuilding, the Matz Maersk, and the ninth vessel to be delivered out of a series of 20 sister ships ordered from South Korea's Daewoo shipyard (DSME) in 2011 has been taken in by the Danish carrier.

Following a bunkering trip to Russia, the new ship will join the line's Asia-Europe AE-10 service in the next two weeks, replacing the 15,550-TEU Ebba Maersk, which is to join the AE-2 loop as it upgrades from 8,400 TEUers to 15,000 TEUers.

The Ebba Maersk will replace the 8,411-TEU Maersk Semarang, which joins the Far East-South Africa-west coast South Africa Safari/AC-3 pendulum, and upgraded from 6,000-7,000 TEUers with 8,000-TEU plus ships, reported Alphaliner.