THE OOCL Japan, the third in its series of six 21,000-TEU ships, has been named with all due ceremony at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard.
OOCL is breaking records for the second time with this vessel. The previous time OOCL set a Guinness World Records title was for the then-largest containership, the 8,603-TEU OOCL Shenzhen in April 2003.
The OOCL Japan, a sister ship to the OOCL Hong Kong, will be serving the Asia-Europe trade lane on the LL1 service and her port rotation is Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shenzhen-Yantian, Singapore, via Suez, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Gdansk, Wilhelmshaven, Felixstowe, via Suez, Singapore, Shenzhen-Yantian, Shanghai in a 77-day round trip.
OOCL added that its network operations with its alliance partners are continuing as planned and the new products, including the LL1 service, that were launched in April are settling in well.
OOCL chief executive Andy Tung noted the global economy is continuing to improve. "The economic growth fundamentals continue to show further improvement so far this year, and under the new industry landscape, we are seeing signs of a stronger rebound after witnessing significant volume growth, increased liftings, and more sustainable rate levels that are positively impacting revenues in the first half of 2017," he said.
"We are pleased to be rolling out these new vessels under the current environment, and look forward to solid demand growth on a much stronger trajectory," he said.
OOCL is breaking records for the second time with this vessel. The previous time OOCL set a Guinness World Records title was for the then-largest containership, the 8,603-TEU OOCL Shenzhen in April 2003.
The OOCL Japan, a sister ship to the OOCL Hong Kong, will be serving the Asia-Europe trade lane on the LL1 service and her port rotation is Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shenzhen-Yantian, Singapore, via Suez, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Gdansk, Wilhelmshaven, Felixstowe, via Suez, Singapore, Shenzhen-Yantian, Shanghai in a 77-day round trip.
OOCL added that its network operations with its alliance partners are continuing as planned and the new products, including the LL1 service, that were launched in April are settling in well.
OOCL chief executive Andy Tung noted the global economy is continuing to improve. "The economic growth fundamentals continue to show further improvement so far this year, and under the new industry landscape, we are seeing signs of a stronger rebound after witnessing significant volume growth, increased liftings, and more sustainable rate levels that are positively impacting revenues in the first half of 2017," he said.
"We are pleased to be rolling out these new vessels under the current environment, and look forward to solid demand growth on a much stronger trajectory," he said.