The Third 14,786 TEU Large Container Vessel of LC Group's KUN-14D Series Officially Named and Delivered
BAL ATHENANaming &Delivery Ceremony
On July 23, at Jiangnan Shipyard, amidst the sounding of whistles and the breaking of champagne — BAL ATHENA was officially named and delivered.
Attendees included Xu Xin, President and Chairman of LC Logistics; Li Yan, Vice President of LC Logistics and President of BAL Shipping; Xiao Wenlin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Jiangnan Shipyard; Zhou Wenqi, Chairman of Tianjin North Group; Lin Xi'ai, Chairman of Shanghai Lingxi Industry Co., Ltd.; Pang Da, Deputy General Manager of Ship & Ocean Department I of CSSC Trading; Chen Ji, Ship Finance Division of CDB Financial Leasing; and Mustafa Bilgin, Newbuilding Manager of Bureau Veritas China. At the ceremony, Ms. Li Yan served as the godmother and named the vessel.
This marks yet another milestone for LC Group.
BAL ATHENA — A New Benchmark Container Vessel
BAL ATHENA is a conventionally fueled 14,000 TEU large container vessel, independently developed and designed by Jiangnan Shipyard under the "Kun" series. It can be summed up in three words: Big, Smart, Green.
Big: With an overall length of 335 meters and a capacity of 14,786 TEU — 335 meters, longer than three football fields; 14,786 TEU containers lined up end to end would stretch from Shanghai to Suzhou. Integrated comprehensive layout optimization and efficient global optimization algorithms achieve the optimal balance between capacity, speed, and fuel consumption.
Smart: Triple-network connectivity achieved before undocking. The ship-shore integrated system, jointly customized by LC and Jiangnan Shipyard, is built on a dual-layer architecture of "onboard edge nodes + shore-based digital middle platform," breaking through data silos across ship, port, and shore to enable full-lifecycle digitalization in safety management, energy efficiency optimization, and operational coordination. This is not just a ship that sails — it is a ship that "thinks."
Green: EEDI approximately 60% below the IMO baseline — the best among domestic vessels of the same scale; capable of low-carbon and zero-carbon operation with biofuel; methanol and LNG dual-fuel ready design approved with class society notation, aligning with the shipping industry's medium-to-long-term decarbonization trends and extending full-lifecycle regulatory compliance.
The Only One in Mainland China — A Historic Breakthrough for Private Shipbuilding
A fact worth repeating — to date, LC Group is the only shipowner in mainland China, apart from COSCO Shipping Group (a state-owned enterprise), to build and operate container vessels of this scale.
At the 14,786 TEU level, previously only the state-owned COSCO Shipping had operated in this class. LC, as a private enterprise, has now joined this elite tier.
Setting Sail — Maiden Voyage to a Global Major Trade Lane
Following delivery, BAL ATHENA's maiden voyage is scheduled to commence on July 24, 2026. The vessel will be chartered to Maersk and deployed on the Asia–Northern Europe AE3 service under the Gemini Cooperation, a global east-west alliance, providing more efficient and reliable capacity support for the stable operation of global supply chains.
BAL ATHENA — named after the Greek goddess of wisdom — carries not just the delivery of a vessel, but the determination and strength of China's private shipping industry venturing into the deep blue.
Soaring like the Kunpeng — boundless horizons ahead.