Swire Shipping Replaces 25-Year-Old MPP with Younger Handy Containership

Singapore-based Swire Shipping has acquired a 2016-built handy container to replace the 25-year-old general cargo ship Kweichow.

The new 1,756 TEU Mount Cameron started operations on May 24, according to the company’s shipping schedule.

The vessel is based on the Topaz 1700 design and was built by China’s Ouhua Shipbuilding. It measures 170 meters in length and has a deadweight of 23,500 MT.

As for the fate of the 1994-built Kweichow, Swire Shipping said the vessel is being recycled in Alang, India, at a Class NK-certified and HK Convention-compliant facility.

The vessel would be recycled in June 2019, it was further noted.

In addition to buying the 2016-built Mount Cameron, the company earlier said that it ordered eight new container vessels from China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard.

With a deadweight of between 30,450 and 33,000 tons and a capacity of 2,350 to 2,750 TEUs, the newbuilds are set to become Swire Shipping’s largest boxship newbuilds to date.