Five Times a Charm, ONE Sets Another TEU Record with New ULCV Class
Ocean Network Express (ONE) has done it again setting yet another record for the highest number of boxes loaded on a containership. The new ONE Intelligence, the last member of its new ultra large container vessel class, loaded 10 percent more boxes than its sistership as it completed taking aboard boxes in Asia before sailing for Europe earlier this month.
The ship is brand new having just been delivered from the shipyard and now has the fifth consecutive record set by ONE in just over three months. The ONE Intelligence completed loading in Asia with a stop in Singapore between January 12 and 14. Departing, she was loaded with a calculated 22,202 TEU (not the actual load because the ships generally carry 2X size FEU boxes but it is reported on the TEU scale).
The ONE Intelligence is deployed on the FE3 service which connects Europe and Asia and her AIS signal shows she is currently rounding South Africa on the diversion route away from the normal Red Sea and Suez Canal transit to Europe. She is the last of six vessels ONE introduced to the route starting in June 2023. The ships each measure 1,312 feet (399.95 meters) in length with a width of 201 feet (61.4 meters). They are registered in Liberia and operated by 34 crewmembers.
ONE boasts that the ships were designed to increase the efficiency of handling containers with a capacity rating of 24,136 TEU. A unique design and a bow screen permit the loading of boxes further forward on the vessels onto the mooring deck. They also have the first application of a technology to stop brittle crack propagation in the ultra-thick, high-strength steel plates as part of the efforts to increase loading efficiency. The ships each have 24 rows for containers and a capacity for 2,000 refer units.
The first record was 21,954 TEUs loaded in Singapore on November 11 and 12 aboard the ONE Integrity. The ONE Innovation, which was the first of the class joining the fleet in June 2023, topped that with a reported 22,000 while in Singapore on December 14. ONE Ingenuity had a load of 22,071 TEUs and this was followed by another record load of 22,159 TEUs on the ONE Inspiration.
ONE Ingenuity with her record load (ONE)
The ships were ordered at the end of 2020 and built by Nihon Shipbuilding with the work split between Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United Corp. The last ship, ONE Intelligence, was built at Imbari’s Saijo yard and was due in Ningbo, China on December 28. She is owned by Shoei Kisen operating under a long-term charter to ONE.
The ships are equipped with a 62,000 kW MAN B&W main engine that gives them a service speed of 22 knots. Their operating efficiency was improved with the shape of the bow bulb, fins, and a twisted rudder as well as a management system onboard. To reduce their environmental impact, they are equipped with a hybrid type EGCS SOx scrubber and outfitted to use shore power where it is available. Nihon reports that the ships achieved extremely high fuel efficiency for their type.
ONE today is the sixth-largest container carrier with a capacity of 1.8 million TEU. ONE currently has 232 vessels with an additional 44 on order according to Alphaliner’s rankings. The orderbook presents an additional capacity of 550,000 TEU. A little over a week ago, ONE reported it had ordered a dozen methanol-fueled 13,000 TEU vessels as the next addition to its fleet. Delivery on this class is expected to start in 2027 with the work split between two Chinese shipyards.