DP World Southampton welcomes its largest vessel to date

The 23,820 TEU HMM Oslo, the biggest vessel ever to call at DP World Southampton, arrived at the port in the early hours of 26 June at the end of her maiden voyage to the UK.

Belonging to a new series of Megamax-24 containerships, the eco-friendly HMM Oslo features a length of 399.9 metres and a width of 61.5 metres. She is longer than London’s The Shard, one of the highest buildings in Europe.

Last week her sister ship, the HMM Algeciras, docked at DP World’s sister port London Gateway in Essex.

These vessels are part of a series of twelve HMM Megamax-24 vessels ordered in 2018 from Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine and Engineering (DSME), and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI).

The capacities of the two variants are slightly different, with 23,964 TEU for the DSME ships (HMM Algeciras class), and 23,820 TEU for the Samsung ships (HMM Oslo class). The HMM Oslo was built by SHI and the HMM Algeciras by DSME — therefore, the Algeciras is slightly larger.

HMM Oslo arrived at Southampton from South Korea,having called at ports in China, Singapore and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The boxship departed DP World Southampton on 27 June carrying British exports on her return journey home, via France, Germany, The Netherlands and Singapore.

“With two deep water ports, DP World in the UK can accommodate the world’s biggest ships both at DP World Southampton and at DP World London Gateway,” Ernst Schulze, UK Chief Executive Officer, DP World, commented.

“The HMM Oslo joins around 200 other container ships that have called at DP World Southampton during the lockdown since March, keeping essential food, fuel and medicines flowing to sustain the country.”

“Our ongoing investment and innovation mean that we are well-placed to support an economic recovery which is not just strong but also green and sustainable,” Schulze added.

“The deployment of these Megamax-24 vessels is a major milestone for HMM, and we are delighted that the first of these to call at Southampton, the HMM Oslo, has arrived this week (26 June),” Peter Livey, Managing Director (Gt. Britain) for HMM, said.

“These Megamax-24 ships are ground-breaking, not just in their size, but in world leading environmental performance too.  Their optimised hull design and highly energy-efficient engines make a significant leap forward in reducing CO2 and other emissions.  It’s all part of our long-term goal to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions across our container fleet by 2050.”