OOCL Christens 21,413 TEU OOCL Hong Kong

Hong Kong-based container carrier Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) held a naming ceremony for the 21,413 TEU OOCL Hong Kong at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, on May 12. 

The 191,317 dwt OOCL Hong Kong has become one of the largest containerships in the world by carrying capacity, in addition to the recently delivered newbuildings Madrid Maersk and MOL Triumph.

“This is a very exciting time for all of us because today marks the first time that OOCL is receiving newbuildings in the 21 thousand TEU size. In fact, the OOCL Hong Kong will be a titan among containerships at sea,” C. C. Tung, Chairman of Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL), commented.

“While our industry seems to have the knack to ‘outdo’ one another in building larger containerships relatively quickly these days, this project is nonetheless an important moment for us. Faced with increasing competition and un-ending pressure on costs, we need to take the bold step in operating larger size ships of quality and high efficiency in order to stay relevant and compete effectively,” Tung added.

OOCL Hong Kong, with a length of 399.9 meters and a width of 58.8 meters, will serve the Asia-Europe trade lane as part of the LL1 service.

In a 77-day round trip, the vessel’s port rotation is: Shanghai / Ningbo / Xiamen / Yantian / Singapore / via Suez Canal / Felixstowe / Rotterdam / Gdansk / Wilhelmshaven / Felixstowe / via Suez Canal / Singapore / Yantian / Shanghai.

As disclosed, the newbuilding is financed through an arrangement with DBS Bank.

Back in 2015, OOCL placed an order for a total of six 21,000 TEU ultra large container vessels (ULCVs). Five more ships are being built for the company at SHI and they are scheduled for delivery later in 2017, VesselsValue’s data shows.

According to the company, the last time OOCL set the world record for the largest boxship was in April 2003 with the 8,063 TEU OOCL Shenzhen.