One of world’s largest cargo ships takes first voyage after completion
The giant One Intelligence container ship passes beneath the Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge on the Shimanami Kaido route in the Seto Inland Sea
One of the world’s largest container ships recently set sail for Ningbo, China, from this western Japan city after it’s completion at a local shipyard.
One Intelligence, with a capacity of 24,136 cargo containers, was completed at Imabari Shipbuilding Co.’s Saijo shipyard. The vessel passed beneath a bridge on the Seto Inland Sea’s Shimanami Kaido route on Dec. 24, and people lined the route to see her off, as “this may be the last opportunity to see a container ship of this class in Japan,” according a representative of the shipbuilder.
The 399.95-meter-long ship is designed to produce significantly less carbon emissions than other container vessels through a combination of energy-saving equipment and lower water and air resistance. The vessel will be operated by Ocean Network Express (Japan) Ltd., a company created from the merger of the container shipping operations of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Nippon Yusen K.K.
Employees of Imabari Shipbuilding Co.’s Saijo plant celebrate the launch of the One Intelligence container ship in Saijo
The merged company decided in 2020 to operate a total of six giant container ships, and the consortium of Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United Corp. was building them. The One Intelligence is the last in the series, and is expected to ply routes to and from China, Singapore and Europe.
