UASC announced its delight at having picked up the Seatrade Global Performer Award at the 26th Seatrade Awards, held this year at London's Guildhall on April 14th. The judging panel was chaired by the IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu and the awards were presented in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, together with 400 industry leaders and professionals from around the world. This award is further recognition of UASC's repositioning as one of the leaders in the global container shipping industry.

This award follows closely on the recent announcement of three other prestigious SeaTrade Awards presented to UASC for Ship Owner/Operator Award, Deal of the Year Award and the Shipping Company of the Year Award, in late 2013.

To have won not three but four of the most sought after categories from this industry leading body in recent months is a testament to the continued hard work and dedication of the whole UASC team said Jorn Hinge, UASC President and CEO. We are executing a strategy to move UASC in to the top echelons of our industry and this recognition by Seatrade makes us justifiably proud of our achievement, said Hinge. UASC's current newbuilding program, set to deliver amongst the largest, most technologically advanced and most environmentally friendly container vessels in the world, is a source of pride for our business, Hinge continued.

UASC now has seventeen new vessels on order; six 18,000 TEU and eleven 14,000 TEU containerships. The cutting edge vessel designs adopted by UASC have been developed focusing on cost efficiency and enhanced environmental friendliness. These vessels will be the first large containerships that will be ˜LNG ready' at delivery with dual fuel capability once the required LNG bunkering infrastructure is in place.

We are tremendously excited about these orders and have taken note of the very positive industry and media comment generated regarding the scale and innovation of the newbuildings. These vessels are a central element of UASC's growth plans and will help the Company to secure long-term cost leadership, said Hinge. Alongside all of this of course we continue to focus on being a leading provider of the highest levels of customer service in the industry. We recognize that without our customer support we can never achieve our goals and so we always ensure that the customer comes first, Hinge commented.