Evergreen has signed time charter agreements with Shoei Kisen Kaisha (Shoei) for eleven 18,000 teu vessels due to be delivered between 2018 and 2019.

The charter parties were signed by Evergreen Marine Corporation's chairman Anchor Chang and Shoei's president Yukito Higaki.

Developed cooperatively between the two companies, the 400 m long, 59 m wide ultra large containerships (ULCs) will feature minimum ballast water requirements and long-stroke G-type main engines to reduce fuel consumption by up to 7%.

The deliveries will bring Evergreen's fleet of medium-to-ULC size vessels to 66, with five 8,800 teu and ten 13,800 teu vessels already delivered, 30 L-type 8,500 teu vessels to complete delivery this year, and ten 14,000 teu to be delivered in 2016 and 2017.

"Evergreen has taken this investment decision to introduce 18,000 teu vessels based on market demand and the capacity requirement for joint service," the company stated. "Current service cooperation arrangements with its alliance partners will enable Evergreen to efficiently utilise the capacity and garner the potential economic benefits represented by larger vessels."