SHI: OOCL Chongqing Makes Its First Grand Appearance

At a christening ceremony held on June 27, OOCL celebrated the naming of the third 13,208 TEU containership that will be joining the company’s fleet this year. Named the OOCL Chongqing, the mega vessel made its first grand appearance at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Geoje Island, South Korea.

The vessel Sponsor Mr. He Guangbei, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd. and Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. performed the formalities to unveil the brand new ship.

In conveying his thanks to the Sponsor, Mr. C. C. Tung, Chairman of Orient Overseas (International) Limited said: “Mr. He represents an international banking giant that OOCL is proud to have had a long-standing business relationship of over 20 years. Since 1990, we have expanded and deepened our business relationship with the BOC and to this day they are one of our top banking partners.”

Reflecting on the early days of the partnership, Mr. Tung added: “It almost feels like yesterday when we first worked together in 1991 towards the refinancing of the OOCL Freedom, one of the six flagship vessels vital to our fleet in those days that together helped sustain the competitiveness of our liner business. That is why we are very delighted that Mr. He is here to celebrate our success on this newbuild, the OOCL Chongqing, and that we look forward to working more closely together in the years ahead.”

The mega vessel will be an important part to improving OOCL’s competitive edge as the new generation of ships are designed and built with efficiency objectives in mind to provide better economies of scale and sailing performance at sea.

With a sophisticated hull form design to optimize the ship’s performance and by adopting state-of-the-art engine technologies, these important features contribute to lowering energy consumption levels and achieving the best EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) value to exceed today’s internationally recognized standard.

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Press Release, July 3, 2013