OOCL Panama naming in Korea

Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Alberto Alem? Zubieta and his wife, Ana Matilde Arias de Alem?, presided over the christening of the sixth 4,500 TEU Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) Panamax vessel, the current maximum size for a ship to transit the Canal. At a ceremony held at the Geoje Shipyard in Korea, the new Panamax vessel was given the name OOCL Panama in honor of the historic role that the Panama Canal has played in the development of global commerce.

He at the Panama Canal Authority are humbled by this token of appreciation from OOCL,?said Mr. Alem? Zubieta. ?n behalf of my wife, who was given the honor to sponsor this state-of-the-art vessel and all Panamanians, I would like to thank OOCL for their kind recognition of our waterway and the contributions that our country has made to the industry and world commerce.?The Panama Canal is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world, and is a spectacular feat of engineering and architecture.

It has provided the world with a vital inter-oceanic link, and has had an unprecedented impact on the world shipping industry. The current Panama Canal expansion project, due to be completed in 2014, is the most ambitious plan since the Canal was constructed. Through its Expansion Program, the ACP will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks that will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.

Are very honored to name our newest vessel after such a fascinating and historically important part of the world,?said Mr. CC Tung, chairman and CEO of OOCL, speaking at the vessel? christening ceremony in Korea.

The OOCL Panama will initially be deployed on the Asia - Australia AEA2 service. The port rotation will be: Yokohama - Osaka - Busan = Qingdao = Shanghai = Ningbo = Xiamen = Hong Kong = Kaohsiung = Melbourne = Sydney = Brisbane and back to Yokohama in a 42-day round trip.<Korea Shipping Gazette>