Hapag-Lloyd Names Largest Container Ship in Germany

Hapag-Lloyd has officially added the “Berlin Express,” the first ship of its new Hamburg Express class, to its fleet today. In the presence of around 300 guests from business and politics, godmother Elke Büdenbender performed the ceremonial ship christening at the Burchardkai container terminal (Athabaskakai) in the Port of Hamburg. Among the guests were Hamburg’s First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and Daniel Günther, the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein.

(Hamburg) With the Hamburg Express class, Hapag-Lloyd marks the beginning of a new era for its fleet. A total of twelve state-of-the-art large container ships will be put into service by 2025. This will make a significant contribution to operating the entire Hapag-Lloyd fleet climate-neutral by 2045. Thanks to their groundbreaking dual-fuel technology, they can be operated in the future with non-fossil fuels such as bio-methane or e-methane with almost zero CO2 emissions.

For now, liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be used, which can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 25 percent and soot emissions by 95 percent. Additionally, advanced components such as an optimized hull and a highly efficient propeller help to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. “With the new Hamburg Express class, a turning point is at hand for Hapag-Lloyd,” says Rolf Habben Jansen. “With these highly efficient ships, emissions can be reduced immediately and significantly. At the same time, they are an important building block of our strategy to advance decarbonization step by step. All ships of this class will sail under the German flag, thus making a significant contribution to strengthening Germany as a shipping location.”

Elke Büdenbender (center with bouquet). Wife of Federal President Walter Steinmeier, christened the “Berlin Express” amidst prominent figures from politics and business.

The “Berlin Express” was built at the Hanwha Ocean shipyard in South Korea. With a length of nearly 400 meters and a capacity of 23,600 TEU, it is the largest cargo ship ever to sail under the German flag. The container ships of the Hamburg Express class will exclusively operate the cargo-intensive Far East route between Asia and Europe. The “Berlin Express” will regularly be deployed on the FE3 service between Ningbo – Xiamen – Kaohsiung – Yantian – Hong Kong – Singapore – Rotterdam and Hamburg.

Photo: © Hapag-Lloyd