Maersk's 13th 18,340-TEU Triple E-class containership built in Korea at the Daewoo shipyard (DSME) is to join the Danish shipping line's Asia-Europe AE-2 service, replacing the 13,092-TEU Maersk Edmonton, which is to be shifted to the AE-1 loop.

The latest newbuilding to be received, the Morten Maersk, is the first 18,340-TEU ship assigned to the AE-2 loop.

Earlier sister ships all joined the carrier's AE-10 loop, which has been fully upgraded to a homogenous fleet of 12 Triple-E vessels since the newbuilt Mogens Maersk joined the loop in September, reported Alphaliner.

The introduction of these Triple-E ships on the AE-2 will mark the first time that 18,000-TEUers will call at Dalian and Hamburg. The ports of Xingang, Qingdao, Antwerp and Felixstowe will now handle regular Triple-E vessels, after earlier test calls.

Operated by 9,600-TEU ships, the AE-1 will be the recipient of the 13,000-TEU vessels displaced from the AE-2.

This move will see the return of large ships to the Japan-Europe run, which was served briefly during the second half of 2006 by Maersk's E-class 15,500-TEUers before they joined the AE-1 loop in its former version one after the other at their delivery.

A further seven Triple-E vessels are scheduled for delivery over the next 10 months.