Rickmers-Linie Takes Delivery Rickmers Jakarta

The eighth in a series of nine Superflex Heavy Multi-Purpose Container (MPC) vessels ordered by Hamburg-based Rickmers Group was delivered to her owners at the Xiamen Shipyard in China on Friday 28 November 2003. Upon completion of a short intra-Asia voyage, MV Rickmers Jakarta will be phased into Rickmers-Linie's fortnightly Round-The-World Pearl String Service in mid-December, with her initial call at the port of Surabaya, Indonesia. On her maiden voyage, Rickmers Jakarta will continue her rotation via Hong Kong to Shanghai, Masan and Yokohama before crossing the Pacific Ocean and heading for the port of Colon in Panama, as well as Houston, New Orleans, Charleston and Camden in the United States. The vessel is expected to call Hamburg, the "Rickmers homeport", for the first time at the end of February. Rickmers Jakarta has an identical layout to her eight sisterships, with adjustable tweendecks, dehumidifying devices in all holds and a heavy-lift capacity of up to 640 tons when combining her two 320 ton portside cranes. The ship is further fitted with two cranes of 100 and 50 tons lifting capacity respectively. The ninth and last in the MPC series, to be handed over to Rickmers-Linie, will be the MV Rickmers Genoa, due for delivery in February 2004. She will complete the fleet for the Round The World Pearl String Service.