Hapag-Lloyd Takes Delivery of Containership

Hapag-Lloyd has taken delivery of another mega containership with a capacity for 8,750 standard containers, the Osaka Express. The vessel was named in Hong Kong and will be deployed between Europe and Far East.

The naming was performed in Hong Kong by Catherine Desbois, wife of Gérard Desbois, CEO of JF Hillebrand Group AG. This company has specialised in the transport of wines and champagne as well as top-quality spirits such as cognacs and whiskies and is leading in this segment worldwide. The value of the merchandise carried in a container can thus quickly reach six-figure sums.

The Osaka Express is being deployed between Europe and the Far East. The ship is 1,099 ft. long and 141 ft. wide and measures over 196.8 ft. from keel to superstructure. Her length and breadth correspond roughly to the dimensions of three football fields. The Osaka Express can carry 8,750 standard containers and has 730 reefer plugs for refrigerated containers. She achieves a speed of 25 knots and completes a round voyage between Europe and Asia in 56 days.

Michael Behrendt noted that Hapag-Lloyd has a very traditional link with China. The first regular service between Hamburg and Shanghai, offering two departures a month, was started in 1872. Additional services were offered in subsequent years.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Hapag provided a steamship service on the Yangtze Kiang between Shanghai and Hankau. North German Lloyd, Hapag-Lloyd’s other original company, contributed with its imperial mail steamer lines to opening up new sales markets in Asia for German foreign trade. Hapag-Lloyd offers 28 weekly services between Asia and Europe and Asia and America, many of them also calling at ports in the People’s Republic of China.