HAPAG-LLOYD TAKES DELIVERY OF FIRST 7,200-TEU CONTAINERSHIP

HAPAG-LLOYD TAKES DELIVERY OF FIRST 7,200-TEU CONTAINERSHIP    Hapag-Lloyd has taken delivery of the first in a series of four 7,200-TEU containerships built by the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Korea.
   The “Hamburg Express,” described by the shipyard as “the largest containership built to date,” is 320 meters long and 42.8 meters wide. The other contenders for the title of the world’s biggest container vessels are the “S-class” ships of Maersk Sealand, which have a length of 347 meters, a width of 42.8 meters and an estimated capacity of more than 7,400 TEUs.
   The vessel will be the largest in Hapag-Lloyd fleet and is powered by the world’s most powerful marine diesel engine of 93,360 bhp.
   The 7,200-TEU ships are able to carry 17 containers abreast on deck and has a maximum draft of 14.5 meters (48 feet). The remaining three new ships ordered by Hapag-Lloyd will follow in next year and in early 2003.
   Hapag-Lloyd has deployed the ship on its joint Asia/Europe “loop D” service with other lines of the Grand Alliance.