Rickmers-Linie celebrated the naming naming of a seventh new Superflex Heavy MPC vessel on April 2. Mrs Minarsih Soedarpo Sastrosatomo, wife of Mr Soedarpo Sastrosatomo, Chairman of the Samudera Indonesia Group, acted as the sponsor for Rickmers Jakarta. The ceremony took place at berth 303 of Tanjung Priok Pelabuhan III on what was her second call in Jakarta.
Rickmers Jakarta was delivered from her builders - Xiamen Shipyard in Xiamen on November 28 last year and has now completed her first eastbound voyage within the Round-The-World Pearl String Service. Like her sisterships, Rickmers Jakarta's in-service performance has been excellent.
Rickmers-Linie has long lasting relations with Indonesia, with the first vessel calling Jakarta in the late 1860s. After World War II, Rickmers-Linie concentrated on other regions in Asia and only called at Indonesian ports on an occasional basis. However, in 1989 during a 12-year period when Rickmers-Linie was owned by Hapag-Lloyd and Samudera Indonesia was the local agent for both companies, Rickmers took over Hapag's conventional breakbulk liner service to Indonesia. Ever since, Rickmers-Linie vessels have been a regular sight in Jakarta, Surabaya and other Indonesian ports. It was therefore a natural decision to name one of the new vessels after the capital of Indonesia.
Rickmers Jakarta is an identical sistership to Rickmers Genoa and seven further vessels, which are equipped with adjustable tweendecks, a heavy-lift capacity of up to 640 tons and dehumidifying devices in all holds. The ninth and last vessel of the series - Rickmers Genoa - was delivered to her owners on 15 March and will be phased into the Pearl String Service in Hamburg after a positioning voyage around the end of April.