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Hapag-Lloyd to deploy first dual-fuel 23,500+ TEU ships in 2023
German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd plans to deploy the first of its twelve new 23,500+ TEU vessels in 2023, Lutz-Michael Dyck, Senior Director Strategic Asset Projects at Hapag-Lloyd, confirmed. In late 2020 and mid-2021, the European ocean carrier ordered a dozen of new ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) from South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
Once completed, the 400-meter-long and 61-meter-wide newbuilds will be among the largest ships in the world. Recently, the company published an interview with Dyck who provided more details on the process of building the giant ships. “The ships are currently being built in South Korea, and we expect the first ships to already be ready for deployment in 2023,” Dyck said. “The
first ship is scheduled for delivery on 30 April 2023, and the last of the 12 vessels will be delivered to us on 31 December 2024.” As informed by Lutz-Michael, the first steel plate for building the first ship was cut on 27 December 2021, and work has already started on building the so-called “blocks” that will later be used to assemble the ship. The keel-laying of the first unit in the dry dock is planned for 22 August 2022.
The company has already chosen names for the first six units, Dyck said. They will be the Singapore Express, the Manila Express, the Bangkok Express, the Mumbai Express, the Busan Express and the Hanoi Express. The remaining six vessels are yet to be named. LNG-powered With this order, Hapag-Lloyd joined its counterparts in ordering dual-fuel, en-
