The newbuild has already completed its maiden voyage to Busan. It will be deployed in Hapag-Lloyd's Far East loop that calls at the ports of Shanghai, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp and Southampton.
The Afif is the last of the eleven 15,000-TEU ships that UASC has brought into the combined company. However, it is the first of them to already be sailing with Hapag-Lloyd's colours and design. As a result of the merger, the average capacity of vessels in the fleet has increased by 1,000 TEU, from 5,860 to 6,840 TEU at present, reported Colombo's Daily FT.
The average ship age of Hapag-Lloyd's fleet has decreased from 8.5 to 7.2 years since the merger. In contrast, the vessels of the 15 leading companies in the sector have an average age of 8.3 years.
Following the merger, Hapag-Lloyd has 230 vessels, including six ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) with capacities of 19,870 TEU, and 11 ships with capacities of 15,000 TEU, including the Afif.