Ever Superb, the fifth in the Evergreen Group's series of 7,024 teu S-class container vessels, has been named Ship of the Year 2006 by leading Asian maritime publication Lloyd's List Maritime Asia. The presentation was made to Dr. Kenny Ong, Chairman of Evergreen Marine Corp (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd at the 8th Lloyd's List Maritime Asia Awards held at the in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Evergreen Group's S-class vessels exceed all national and international regulations regarding environmental protection by incorporating design features such as double-skinned hull and all fuel oil tanks have been located in protected locations, within the transverse bulkhead spaces, thus minimizing the risk of oil pollution. A high capacity oily water separator enables the oil content of waste water to be reduced to just 15 ppm while much larger separated bilge oil and bilge holding tanks provide more storage capacity, enabling the vessels to avoid any discharge when sailing in sensitive areas and to maximize the amount of waste that can be held for ultimate disposal in specialized shore facilities. Similar arrangements have been made for handling sewage, grey water and cargo hold bilges when the vessels are in port or close to shore, while the ships also incorporate 'cold-ironing' - the ability to shut down all shipboard generators and switch to shore-based electricity supplies while in port.

The Lloyd's List Maritime Asia ship of the year category was first introduced in 2004 in reflection of the healthy order books of Asian shipyards. The yards, architects and classification societies are asked to nominate the most notable ships that have entered service. These ships are then considered for the award by the senior editorial committee of Lloyd's List Maritime Asia and finalists are chosen based on operating efficiency, innovation, safety and environmental factors. Accepting the Award, Ong said,

"At Evergreen, we believe most sincerely that the maritime industry has a great responsibility to the future of mankind, to treat this planet with respect and to take every step possible in our efforts to improve the quality of the oceans and the coastlines. This belief was a prime motivator behind the design of the S-class vessels and will continue to be a driving force in the development of our future fleet and operations."

With an overall length of 300 meters and a beam of 42.8 meters, the S-class vessels are able to carry containers 17 rows across on deck and 15 rows across below deck. They have a deadweight of 78,200 tons on a service draft of 14.2 meters. Each vessel has a single 10-cylinder Mitsubishi Sulzer 10RTA96C main engine developing 74,700bhp (54,900KW) to provide for a service speed of 25.3 knots. The carriage of temperature-controlled containers, an increasingly important revenue source, is made possible with provisions for 839 reefer plugs.

Hatsu Shine was the first vessel in the S-class series to enter service when she was delivered to the Evergreen Group's UK shipping company Hatsu Marine Limited in September 2005. Following three further S-class deliveries to Hatsu Marine, Ever Superb became the first S-class vessel to enter operation with affiliate company Evergreen Marine Corp. The vessel is currently serving on the HTW service linking Hong Kong and Taiwan with the US West Coast.

The last vessel in the S-type series is due for delivery to Evergreen Marine Corp. before 2008.