The Elbdeich shipping company has put another newbuild from Penglai Jinglu Shipbuilding into service. The “Elbinsel” is the third of six sister ships.
The series of newbuildings ordered in China will be completed by the end of the year, according to reports. These are feeder ships of the SMB 1400 type with 1,380 TEU. Previously, two units had already been delivered to the Lidl shipping company Tailwaind Shipping Lines under the charter name “Panda 04”.
The “Elbinsel” is going into a long-term charter with shortsea provider Unifeeder. However, MSC has secured the ship for the transfer voyage from Asia to Northern Europe.
Elbdeich ships with ice class 1A for Northern Europe
The hull-less type SMB 1400 is 169.95 m long and 26.90 m (10 rows) wide. It has ice class 1A, fully enclosed bridges and foredecks, hydraulically folding hatch covers and space for oversized intermodal containers (45 TEU). Propulsion is provided by a MAN B&W 7S 50ME-C9 main engine, which gives the ship a speed of 18.5 knots. Up to 378 reefer containers can be stowed on board.
The first two ships for the shipping company belonging to USC Barnkrug, the “Elbdeich” (now “Panda 003”) and the “Elbmarsch” (“Panda 004”), are operated by Tailwind. Two further units are going to Ellerman Lines – according to brokers, no charter contract has yet been signed for the “Elbdelta”.
In addition to Elbdeich, the shipping company Nordic Hamburg has also ordered four of these ships, all of which will go into long-term charter periods with BG Freight Line.
Smaller feeders for Elbdeich coming in 2026
In addition to the six 1,380 TEU feeders, the shipping company managed by Jens Moje has also ordered four smaller newbuildings, each with 1,250 TEU, from the Chinese Wenchong shipyard (GWS). According to earlier information, these are ships with dual-fuel engines that can run on LNG, but will also be able to run on methanol in future. The ships will be delivered from the beginning of 2026 and all four newbuilds have reportedly also been contracted by Unifeeder.
