OOCL making the right moves with new ships

OOCL Japan, the third in its series of six 21,000-teu class containerships, was named at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Friday. “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 21,000 teu class vessels, the largest containerships in the world to date,” said OOCL ceo Andy Tung.

OOCL is breaking records for the second time with this vessel. The previous time OOCL set a Guinness World Records title was for the then-largest containership, the 8,603 teu OOCL Shenzhen in April 2003. “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, a sister ship to the OOCL Hong Kong, 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 added 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.

Tung noted the global economy is continuing to improve. “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," he said.

"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,” he added.

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