Photos: Hapag-Lloyd Names LNG-Ready Behemoth in UK

German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd named its LNG-ready 15,000 TEU containership Afif on Monday, July 16 at DP World’s London Gateway.

“We are happy to once again name a ship in the United Kingdom after twenty years. The Afif is over three times the size of the ‘London Express’, a ship that received its name in Southampton, England, in 1998,” said Anthony J. Firmin, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hapag-Lloyd.

“London Gateway is one of the most important terminals in Northern Europe. It offers Hapag-Lloyd a fantastic opportunity to unite customers and markets all over the world.”

2018 marks the five-year anniversary of the cooperation between port operator DP World and Hapag-Lloyd.

The 2017-built Afif is part of a 10-strong series of ultra large boxships which are the second-largest ship class in Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet.

The ship was built for United Arab Shipping Lines (UASC) with whom Hapag-Lloyd merged in May, 2017. Afif is one of Hapag-Lloyd’s 17 LNG-ready ships.

Afif sails on the FE4 service, also known as Far East Loop. From Southampton, the ship will sail to Yantian, Shanghai, Busan and Ningbo before returning to Europe.