China is capable of building container ships with 8,100 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), according to sources with the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co. Ltd., one of the major shipbuilders in China.
The company has successfully overcome related technological obstacles to build such large-capacity container ships, said Gu Baolong, board chairman of the company.
At present, the company is capable of building ships carrying 4,100, 5,668 and 5,688 TEU containers.
A 5,668 TEU container ship built by the company for the China Shipping Group Corporation was launched into service on May 30. And the company will soon begin to build a larger ship capable of holding 5,688 TEUs.
China is striving to become the world's No.1 shipbuilder. Now China ranks the third in terms of dead weight tonnage (DWT) of the world, behind Japan and the Republic of Korea.
(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2003)
