OOCL takes delivery of second 21,413-TEU mega-ship

The Hong Kong-based ocean carrier took delivery of the OOCL Germany today, the second of the six 21,000-TEU class vessels on order from the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Geoje Island, South Korea.    Hong Kong-based ocean carrier Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) took delivery of the 21,413-TEU OOCL Germany Tuesday from the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Geoje Island, South Korea, OOCL said.
   The OOCL Germany is the second of the six, 21,000-TEU class vessels on order at the shipyard.
   The first vessel in the series was the OOCL Hong Kong, which was delivered in May, becoming the largest containership on the seas. The OOCL Hong Kong surpassed the prior record of the 20,568-TEU Madrid Maersk, which was delivered in April. 
   OOCL said earlier this month that all vessels in the series are expected to be delivered by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
   Samsung Heavy Industries received the order from OOCL for the six vessels in April 2015, costing the shipping line about $950 million, the shipbuilder said back in 2015. The ships are 400 meters long and 58.8 meters wide.
   OOCL said the OOCL Germany will join the OOCL Hong Kong on the Asia-Europe LL1 service, which has a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian, Singapore, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Gdansk, Wilhemshaven, Felixstowe, Singapore, Yantian and Shanghai.
   OOCL’s most recent online service schedules show the OOCL Germany will join the LL1 with the Sept. 5 departure from Shanghai.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the LL1 is operated by the OCEAN Alliance, a vessel sharing agreement on major east-west trades that includes OOCL, CMA CGM, APL, COSCO and Evergreen Line.
   The loop deploys 11 vessels – eight provided by OOCL and three provided by COSCO – with an average capacity of 13,228 TEUs.