OOCL hits milestone with double christening at Geoje Island Shipyard

OOCL recently announced the christening of two 13,208-TEU mega vessels at a ceremony held at the Geoje Island Shipyard in Korea, the first time the company is taking delivery of newbuilds of this size.

The first vessel was christened the m.v. OOCL Brussels by sponsor Mrs. Hsu Lai, Chao-Yin, the wife of Mr. Shiu, Kuang-Si, President of Mega International Commercial Bank, Taiwan. The second vessel was christened the m.v. NYK Helios by Sponsor Mrs. Nintira Sophonpanich, the wife of Mr. Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank.

Mr. Andy Tung, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL, hosted the naming ceremony and thanked the sponsors for gracing the stage to perform the formalities and in thanking Mega International Commercial Bank and Bangkok Bank for their support, he said, “Your recognition and faith in OOCL as a business partner is a huge encouragement to us as the company continues to build the business from strength to strength by delivering exceptional product and services to customers, maintaining a healthy financial position, and embracing innovative and cutting-edge technologies to provide a Vital Link to world trade.”

He also thanked Mr. D. Y. Park, President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Heavy Industries, for the successful newbuilds that marked the largest vessels that Samsung has ever built for OOCL to date. The two container ships of this size are in a line of ten ordered from the Samsung shipyard.

“I am very pleased to acknowledge our partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries as they play an instrumental role in strengthening OOCL’s fleet,” Mr. Tung said. “OOCL is committed to exceeding international standards and these new vessels are built and equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technologies with advanced green features to meet current and future environmental requirements.”

The sophisticated hull form design, for instance, optimizes the ship’s performance to minimize fuel consumption, and with less fuel being used, this helps emissions control with less impact to global warming.

An OOCL official stated that they are exceptionally proud that these newbuilding vessels have exceeded today’s internationally recognized standard by achieving a much improved Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) level from the baseline required in the year 2025 by the International Maritime Organization.

OOCL Brussels will be deployed on Loop 5 of the Asia–Europe service. The port rotation is: Kwangyang - Pusan - Yangshan - Shekou - Yantian - Singapore - Suez Canal - Rotterdam - Hamburg - Thamesport - Suez Canal - Singapore and back to Kwanyang in a 77-day round trip.

NYK Helios will be chartered out to NYK and deployed on Loop 4 of the Asia-Europe service. The port rotation is Ningbo - Yangshan - Yantian - Singapore - Suez Canal - Le Havre - Southampton - Hamburg - Rotterdam - Suez Canal - Jeddah - Singapore - Yantian and back to Ningbo in a 77-day round trip. < Korea Shipping Gazette >