On June 23, Hudong-Zhonghua successfully held the naming ceremony for the latest two 13,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered large container vessels, “Kota Elok” and “Kota Elan”, built for Singapore’s Pacific International Lines (PIL) at the western shipyard. The vessels were delivered 6 months and 8 months ahead of schedule respectively, setting a new record in container ship construction.
“Kota Elok” was named by Ms. Tan Hooi Cheng, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Temasek International; “Kota Elan” was named by Ms. Yan Zi, former Olympic tennis bronze medalist and Grand Slam women’s doubles champion. Ms. Yan Zi is also the wife of Mr. Li Sheng Gen, Executive Director of Xinyi Glass, a global leading glass manufacturer. Chen Jianliang, Party Secretary and Chairman of Hudong-Zhonghua, and Goh Teik Poh, CEO of PIL, delivered speeches. Attendees included Xing Yimin, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of PIL and Co-President of Portfolio Development at Temasek; Joe Beel, Chief Maritime Officer of PIL; Lim Kok Khiang, Chief Trade Officer of PIL; Luo Haifeng, Managing Director of PIL China; Li Wucheng, Director of Shandong Port Group Container Center; Li Tianxiang, President of Lloyd’s Register Global Plan Approval Center and Greater China; Shen Ning, Marketing Director of Hudong-Zhonghua; and representatives from PIL, Temasek, Xinyi Glass, Shandong Port Group, Lloyd’s Register, the owner’s site supervision team, new ship crew, and China Shipbuilding Trading. Zuo Dequan, Chief Builder of Hudong-Zhonghua’s civil products and General Manager of Changxing Shipbuilding, presided over the dual naming ceremony.
“Kota Elok” means “beautiful city” in Malay, symbolizing the vessel’s elegant appearance and the thriving ports and communities it connects; “Kota Elan” is derived from the French word “élan”, representing vitality and forward momentum, reflecting the vessel’s important role in driving global trade flows.
These two new vessels, built by Hudong-Zhonghua, are the first two delivered from a series of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels ordered by PIL. They will be deployed on Asia-to-South America routes. The introduction of these new vessels will significantly enhance PIL’s route capacity, strengthen service capabilities, and improve operational efficiency.
This vessel type is a green and environmentally friendly container ship independently developed and designed by Hudong-Zhonghua, tailored for the shipowner. It has an overall length of 335 meters, a beam of 51 meters, a depth of 27.2 meters, a maximum container capacity exceeding 13,000 TEU, and can carry 2,200 reefer containers. It is equipped with an LNG dual-fuel propulsion system and features Hudong-Zhonghua’s independently developed 12,000 cubic meter Type B LNG fuel tank and Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS), ensuring a cruising range of over 22,000 nautical miles in gas mode. Multiple energy-saving designs have been applied, including optimized hull lines, an independently developed wind deflector, and advanced automation and digital systems, providing a more ergonomic operating environment for the crew.
Goh Teik Poh, CEO of PIL, stated: “The naming of these two vessels is an important milestone for PIL in accelerating fleet modernization and consolidating competitiveness on key routes. These green and environmentally friendly new vessels will further meet the growing demand for Latin American trade and demonstrate our firm commitment to sustainable development.”
The completion and naming of the first and second vessels of the project is an important milestone in the cooperation between the two parties and a model of independent innovation in China’s green intelligent ships. Since the commencement of construction of “Kota Elok” and “Kota Elan” in May and June 2025 respectively, with full support from the owner’s supervision team and other parties, Hudong-Zhonghua has overcome numerous advanced processes, setting a new benchmark for efficient and high-quality dock construction, marking a further enhancement of China’s independent and controllable capabilities in the high-end dual-fuel vessel sector.
Hudong-Zhonghua has always actively responded to the national green development strategy, deeply aligning with PIL’s green shipping philosophy as a global leading shipping company. The friendship between the two parties has continuously deepened through cooperation, establishing a high degree of trust. Since the cooperation began in August 2024 with an order for five 13,000 TEU dual-fuel container ships, a total of 16 vessels across four batches of orders have been completed within three years, fully demonstrating the profound mutual understanding and firm trust between the old friends.
As a global leader in the construction of ultra-large container ships, Hudong-Zhonghua has delivered over a hundred container ships of various types, achieving full coverage from 1,714 TEU to 24,000 TEU. This series of impressive data is not only strong evidence of the company’s core technology, production capacity, and performance capability but also reflects the high trust and full recognition of the company’s brand strength by global partners.
Looking to the future, Hudong-Zhonghua remains firmly anchored to the green and low-carbon development path, using digitalization and intelligence as engines to deeply cultivate the research, development, and iteration of clean energy vessel types, providing world-class products and services to global shipowners, and contributing Chinese solutions to the clean, efficient, and sustainable development of the global shipping industry.
