Hamburg Sud christens the Rio de la Plata

At the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) yard in Okpo, Korea, Hamburg Sud christened the largest-ever container ship in the company? history.

The ?io de la Plata?is the first newbuilding in a series of six identical vessels each possessing a slot capacity of 5,900 TEU. At a length of 286 meters, the ?io?lass is precisely one bay longer than the 5,552 TEU ?onte?class vessels.

Following her delivery on April 2nd, 2008, the ?io de la Plata?will initially be phased into Hamburg Sud? Asia - South America East Coast service for a short time before being deployed in the shipping group? Europe - South America East Coast trade. She and her five sister ships will gradually replace the ?onte?vessels deployed there, which will then connect Asia with South America East Coast.<Korea Shipping Gazette>