German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd announced via Linkedin that it has welcomeed a 23,660 TEU Hamburg Express-class container ship. The 23,600TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel powered ultra-large container ship is named “Gdansk Express”.
The Gdansk Express is 399 meters long and 61 meters wide. It is the eighth of 12 new ultra-large container ships in Hapag-Lloyd’s Express series, which are also the largest container ships sailing under the German flag.
In December 2022, Hapag-Lloyd ordered six 23,600TEU LNG dual-fuel powered container ships from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME, now Hanwha Ocean) scheduled for delivery in 2023. Six months later, the German shipowner placed an additional order for six similar ships worth $1 billion from the shipbuilder. The first ship of the series, the Berlin Express, was delivered in July 2023, and the remaining five ships will be delivered by the end of 2025.
Hapag-Lloyd said that this series of container ships are equipped with MAN B&W11G95ME-C10.5-GI dual-fuel main engines, which can use very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) and liquefied natural gas at the same time.
Compared with traditional marine fuel, the use of liquefied natural gas can reduce 15% to 25% of carbon dioxide emissions and 95% of soot emissions. Advanced technologies such as optimized hulls and efficient propellers will help ships reduce fuel consumption, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Equipped with main engine,the ship can use non-fossil fuels such as biomethane and e-methane, and almost no carbon dioxide emissions will be generated during operation.
Hapag-Lloyd has christened the 23,660 TEU dual-fuel Hamburg Express, the eponymous flagship of the company’s “Hamburg Express” class on November 4, 2024. “Hamburg Express” is the 7th in the series.