OOCL New Zealand named at Geoje Shipyard, Korea

OOCL announced on September 4, 2009, the christening of its ninth Panamax class vessel in its line of sixteen 4,500-TEU vessels ordered from Samsung Heavy Industries.

The new vessel was christened the m.v. OOCL New Zealand by sponsor Mrs. Simone Cranwell, the wife of Mr. Steven Cranwell, Regional General Manager, Institutional and Business Banking for the National Australia Bank in Asia.

Having Mrs. Cranwell as the sponsor of OOCL New Zealand recognizes OOCL? invaluable relationship with the National Australia Bank,?said Ken Cambie, Chief Financial Officer of OOIL Group, speaking at the vessel christening ceremony in Korea.

We are proud to name this ship the OOCL New Zealand,?said Mr. Cambie. ?ew Zealand might be a small nation in terms of size, but its many achievements are remarkable, and it is a significant maritime hub for the Australasian region.

These Panamax ships are exceptionally versatile and they help OOCL to enhance our services. They can be used in our Intra-Asia trade, in our Australia/New Zealand trade and they can transit the Panama Canal,explained Mr. Cambie.

Samsung Heavy Industries has built many great ships for OOCL, combining optimum performance with cost efficiency. With such vessels, OOCL can improve the service we provide to our customers, offering greater economies of scale, increased capacity and higher frequency of sailings.

These excellent vessels have greatly enhanced OOCL? competitive edge. The OOCL New Zealand will be deployed on the Asia-Australia AAA 2 service. The port rotation is: Port Kelang/ Singapore/ Fremantle/ Melbourne/ Adelaide/ Fremantle and back to Port Kelang on a 28-day round trip.

Above - (pictured left to right) Mr. Steven Cranwell, Regional General Manager, Institutional and Business Banking for the National Australia Bank in Asia; Mrs. Simone Cranwell, sponsor; Mr. Ken Cambie, Chief Financial Officer of OOIL Group; Mr. S.Y. Bae, President and Shipyard General Manager of Samsung Heavy Industries.

Below - Group photo at the naming ceremony of the OOCL New Zealand, held at Geoje Shipyard, Korea on September 04, 2009.<Korea Shipping Gazette>