"K" Line has taken delivery of the first of five 14,000 TEU vessels at Imabari Shipbuilding Co's Hiroshima Shipyard in Japan with the acceptance of the Millau Bridge, ordered along with the others in 2013.

The newbuilding will be deployed on the Asia-Europe service (NE2) under the CKYHE Alliance.

"The NE2 service will be upsized following the delivery of our remaining four vessels along with our partners' similar-sized vessels," the ocean liner said in a statement.

The Japanese shipping line said it has already placed an order for five more 14,000 TEU vessels at Imabari Shipbuilding, which are due to be delivered in 2018.

Its fleet will then comprise a total of ten ultra large container vessels (ULCV) equipped with the "latest energy-saving technologies."