Evergreen Line, which has been very cautious about adding vessel capacity to its container fleet during the last few years, confirmed Friday that it will start negotiating orders with shipyards soon to build as many as 100 new container ships.

A U.S. spokesperson for the company confirmed media reports from Japan of comments by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-Fa that it will select the shipyards and start negotiating ship specifications, construction volumes,delivery dates, ship prices, and payment terms in May.Chang also said that Evergreen Group recorded losses in 2009 for the first time since the companys inception.He said the groups overall losses totaled only $300 million.It incurred massive losses during the first half of the year, but was able to make a comeback in the second half as it returned to profitability.Chang said refraining from placing reckless vessel orders was a decisive factor in curbing its losses.The Taiwanese carriers plans for new ships include orders for 32 vessels of a new type with capacity of 8,000 20-foot equivalent units each,for 20 additional S-type(7,024-TEU)ships,for 20 additional U-type(5,364-TEU)ships and for 20 or more 2,000-TEU ships of a new type that will be used for feeder services.

Source:Journal of commerce April 12,2010