The first of three 4,860-teu boxships to be widened at China’s Huarun Dadong Dockyard (HRDD) has been floated out and towed to a fitting-out berth.

The MSC Geneva (ex-Buxwave, built 2006) is being converted into a 6,300-teu containership as part of a two-year project pioneered by German shipmanager Reederei NSB.

The pilot project has taken about four months to reach this stage but the conversion of the remaining ships should be quicker due to the know-how and experience gained, NSB says.