Ships under construction berth in a dock of a local shipbuilding company in Rongcheng, East China's Shandong Province on May 25, 2023. Photo: VCG

A Chinese shipbuilder on Monday delivered one of the world’s largest container ships that can carry 24,000 containers, marking another major development in China’s rapidly growing shipbuilding capabilities.

MSC China, an ultra-large container ship, was delivered to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and China Shipbuilding Trading Corporation on Monday in Shanghai, one month ahead of schedule.  

Designed by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group and built by Jiangnan Shipyard and China Shipbuilding Trading Corporation, MSC China is the 13th and latest 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) ultra-large container ship from China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). 

MSC China has a total length of 399.99 meters, with 61.5 meters of molded width, and 33.2 meters of molded depth. The ship was classified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV).  

The ship is equipped with several new systems to help reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Its air lubrication system is designed to reduce the total energy consumption of the ship while reducing its carbon emissions by 3 to 4 percent. 

As China's shipbuilding capacity continues to grow and demand increases in the world's shipping market, a number of 24,000 TEU containerships have been delivered in China this year. On October 1, MSC Micol was delivered to Seaspan and MSC and put into operation. 

After taking the largest market share in the world for 13 consecutive years, China’s shipbuilding industry continues to show strong momentum. In the first half of 2023, Chinese ship completions reached 21.13 million deadweight tons, up 14.2 percent year-on-year.