Germany-based container shipping major Hapag-Lloyd held a christening ceremony for Valparaíso Express, the first of five newbuildings in the company's new 10,500teu class, on Dec. 7, 2016.

The 118,945gt newbuild was constructed by South Korean yard Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

The container vessel will sail in the revised Europe – South America West Coast service of Hapag-Lloyd in which four of the five newbuildings are replacing older Panamax ships. A second Panamax size loop (SW2) and two slot charter agreements (EW1 and EW2) in the same trade lane will be terminated, according to the company.

"This way, Hapag-Lloyd can deploy more efficient vessels between North Europe and South America West Coast without adding significant capacity to the market. The new SW is a premium service in this trade covering the major markets in North Europe, the Caribbean and West Coast South America," said Hapag-Lloyd.

The roundtrip of the Valparaíso Express will take nine weeks with the following port rotation: Rotterdam (Netherlands), London (UK), Hamburg (Germany), Antwerp (Belgium), Le Havre (France), Caucedo (Dominican Republic), Cartagena (Colombia), Manzanillo (Panama), Buenaventura (Colombia), Callao (Peru), Puerto Angamos, Valparaíso (Chile), Callao, Buenaventura, Manzanillo (Panama), Cartagena, Caucedo and Rotterdam.

Each of the five newbuilds measures 333 meters in length and 48 meters in width. They are classified by DNVGL and will sail under the German flag.