MSC names giant LNG-powered boxship in Hamburg

Swiss MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has named its latest 16,000 TEU liquefied natural gas- (LNG) powered containership in the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

The 366-meter-long and 50-meter-long MSC Germany was named during the MSC Yellow Festival in the port, directly next to the Elbphilharmonie, on June 14, 2025.

“The world’s largest shipping company, MSC, is officially launching its newest ship here in Germany’s largest port. We are delighted and honored. Hamburg will be a reliable port of call for MSC GERMANY and its trading partners from around the world. We wish MSC GERMANY safe voyages, successful journeys, and a safe return home!” Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg who inaugurated the vessel, commented.

The festival celebrated Hamburg’s role as the ‘gateway to the world’ and the new partnership between the city and MSC, the world’s largest container shipping company.’ To remind, MSC unveiled its intention last year to build its new German headquarters in Hamburg’s HafenCity, with the construction set to begin in 2026.

What is more, in December 2023, MSC, together with the City of Hamburg, secured over 92 percent of local logistics and transportation company Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). Together, the City of Hamburg and MSC want to drive forward the strategic development of HHLA and the entire Port of Hamburg. MSC received all regulatory approvals to participate in the ownership structure of HHLA in November 2024.

“As a partner of the Port of Hamburg, we feel a special connection not only to Hamburg’s maritime culture, but also to the people of Hamburg who successfully celebrated their port and our MSC Germany with us on this day. It was important to us to return a piece of this enthusiasm and say thank you. That’s why we are delighted with the fantastic feedback on our MSC Yellow Festival,” Nils Kahn, Managing Director of MSC Germany, said.

The day also provided an opportunity for the MSC Foundation to announce plans to return to Hamburg, where it was first launched and one of its earliest partnerships began in 2019. A new collaboration with Gesellschaft für ökologische Planung e.V. (GÖP) will start, building on the work of this long-established association at the heart of Hamburg’s environmental stewardship and education efforts.

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