Hong Kong’s shipping company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) welcomed yesterday its first vessel to exceed the 24,000 TEU threshold. The new boxship was officially named ‘OOCL Spain’ in a ceremony held on 16 February.
‘OOCL Spain’ is capable of carrying 24,188 TEU, making it among the largest container ships on record in terms of capacity. Her capacity exceeds that of ‘Ever Alot’ (24,004 TEU) but remains below that of 'MSC Irina' and 'MSC Loreto', which capacities exceed 24,300 TEU, according to G-Captain.
The company revealed that its mega boxship was built by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co. (NACKS.) and has been awarded three "Smart Ship" notations by the American Bureau of Shipping.
“This is recognition that OOCL’s use of the latest intelligent technology onboard, together with big data acquisition, will optimize the operations of the OOCL Spain, enabling fuel efficiency improvements, gains in structural health monitoring, and long-term navigational safety,” said OOCL in a statement.
‘OOCL Spain’ is the first of a series of six 24,188 TEU vessels ordered by OOCL in 2020 to be delivered by NACKS, added the statement.
