OOCL London named at Geoje Shipyard, Korea

OOCL announced on April 13, 2010, the christening of its newest vessel, the OOCL London, the fifteenth SX class vessel (8,063 TEU) in OOCL’s line of sixteen SX class vessels ordered from Samsung Heavy Industries.

The OOCL London was named by sponsor Lady Rebecca Jane Purves, wife of Sir William Purves, former Group Chairman of HSBC.

Mr CC Tung, Chairman and CEO of OOIL Group, hosted the ceremony which was held at Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Geoje Island.  Guests of honour included Mr I S Roh, President and CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries and Mr SY Bae, President and Shipyard General Manager of Samsung Heavy Industries.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Tung said, “Throughout the recession, OOCL has maintained our commitment to deliver superior customer service, working with our customers to sustain and enhance their supply chains in a rapidly changing environment. In this endeavour, we are extremely fortunate to have dedicated partners such as Samsung Heavy Industries. The efficient service and excellent quality vessels built by Samsung Heavy Industries have helped OOCL maintain our competitive edge through good times and bad.”

Mr Tung added, “We are pleased to see that after a very tough year for the container shipping industry in 2009, demand seems to be recovering, albeit tentatively. However, many uncertainties remain and the industry is still looking at a tremendous capacity overhang. It could be three to four years before the supply and demand balance reaches equilibrium. We will continue to listen to our customers’ needs and provide sufficient tonnage to cover demand.”

The OOCL London will be deployed on the EU Loop C service, in response to the recovery of demand on the Asia-Europe trade.

The port rotation is: Rotterdam / Hamburg / Southampton / Singapore / Shekou / Hong Kong / Kaohsiung /Ningbo / Shanghai / Xiamen / Kaohsiung / Hong Kong / Shekou / Singapore / Port Kelang / Southampton and back to Rotterdam in a 70-day round trip.

 (Source: Container Management)