OOCL announced on Friday that Hull number H2174, the third in Company’s line of six 21 thousand TEU class containerships, has been named as the OOCL Japan at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard Friday.

Among industry friends, colleagues and business partners at the naming event, Mr. Andy Tung, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL, thanked all those who contributed to the success of the OOCL Japan, particularly the shipyard for all their support in their contribution to OOCL’s fleet of 21,413 TEU vessels.

OOCL Japan named - the sister vessel of OOCL Hong Kong achieved a Guinness World Records Title
Caption: OOCL Japan christened at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Geoje Island, South Korea

“Samsung Heavy Industries is one of leading shipbuilders in the world, and we have always valued their level of commitment to quality and the versatility to tackle on new challenges, just as we are doing now to build these incredible 21 thousand TEU class vessels, the largest containerships in the world to date,” said Mr. Tung.

In fact, this would be the second time that OOCL is breaking records.  The last time OOCL set a Guinness World Records title was for the largest containership back in April 2003 with the OOCL Shenzhen, an 8,063 TEU vessel.

Caption: OOCL Hong Kong was the first containership in the world to break through the 21 thousand TEU mark

“Once again, we are very delighted to be setting yet another record with our long-time business partner because earlier this week, we have been confirmed by the Guinness World Records that the OOCL Hong Kong has officially been recorded as the world’s biggest containership by carry capacity at 21,413 TEU.”

The OOCL Japan will be serving the Asia-Europe trade lane on the LL1 service and her port rotation is: Shanghai / Ningbo / Xiamen / Yantian / Singapore / via Suez Canal / Felixstowe / Rotterdam / Gdansk / Wilhelmshaven / Felixstowe / via Suez Canal / Singapore / Yantian / Shanghai in a 77-day round trip.

OOCL says that its network operations with its alliance partners are continuing as planned and the new products, including the LL1 service, that were launched in April are settling in well.

Commenting on the timing of the deployment of our 21,413 TEU vessels this year, Mr Tung said: “The economic growth fundamentals continue to show further improvement so far this year, and under the new industry landscape, we are seeing signs of a stronger rebound after witnessing significant volume growth, increased liftings, and more sustainable rate levels that are positively impacting revenues in the first half of 2017.  We are pleased to be rolling out these new vessels under the current environment, and look forward to solid demand growth on a much stronger trajectory.”

Vessels particulars:

 Length overall  399.870 metres  Air draft   73.5 metres
 Length BP   383.0 metres  Deadweight  Approx. 191,317 metric tons
 Breadth (Mld)  58.8 metres  Container carrying capacity  21,413 TEU
 Depth (Mld)  32.5 metres  IMO number  9776195
 Designed Draught (Mld)   14.5 metres  Official number  HK-4847
 Scantling Draught (Mld)  16.0 metres  Call signg  VRQX5

Overseas Container Line” and “OOCL” are trade names for transportation provided separately by: Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (“OOCLL”) and OOCL (Europe) Limited respectively and both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Orient Overseas (International) Limited, a public company (0316) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.  Headquartered in Hong Kong, OOCL is one of the world's largest integrated international container transportation and logistics companies, with more than 330 offices in 70 countries. Linking Asia, Europe, North America, the Mediterranean, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand, the company offers transportation services to all major east/west trading economies of the world. OOCL is one of the leading international carriers serving China, providing a full range of logistics and transportation services throughout the country. It is also an industry leader in the use of information technology and e-commerce to manage the entire cargo process.

Source: OOCL