Hapag-Lloyd christens LNG-fuelled 23,000TEU boxship

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd formally named its newest container vessel in a ceremony at the Port of Hamburg on Monday, November 4.

Hamburg Express belongs to a series of 12 ships that also includes Singapore Express, which was delivered in May of this year. All 12 ships in the series were built by Hanwha Ocean of South Korea.

Hamburg Express has a capacity of 23,660 TEUs and can run LNG, which is stored in IMO Type B fuel tanks made from high-manganese steel. The material was selected for the tanks due to its lower cost, lower processing requirements, and greater strength compared to the steel traditionally used in LNG fuel tanks.

The newbuild has an LOA of 399 metres, a beam of 61 metres, a gross tonnage of 229,376, a deadweight tonnage of 229,348, and a dual-fuel engine with a total installed power of 58,270 kW. The cargo deck also has 1,500 reefer plugs.

Hamburg Express belongs to a series of ships that were designed from the outset for dual-fuel operation, which also encompasses the auxiliary machinery and the boilers in addition to the main engines. The vessel will be operated between Asia and Europe via Hapag-Lloyd's FE3 Far East service.