Historic capacity increase in a single week for Hapag-Lloyd

In just seven days, Hapag-Lloyd has achieved the largest capacity expansion in our history. We are proud to be welcoming three new vessels to our fleet – the “Damietta Express”, the “Singapore Express” and the “Iquique Express” – which together add over 60,000 TEU to our total capacity.

In May, our "Damietta Express" was launched at Hanwha Shipyard in South Korea. Last week our "Iquique Express" was christened in China at New Times Shipyard and the "Singapore Express" was christened in Singapore.The "Iquique Express" left the shipyard on 31 May 2024 and her first port of call was Ningbo on 1 June where she will be phased into the TPM service.

The “Damietta Express” & the “Singapore Express” both will be employed on the Far East-North Europe Service FE3. These ultra-large container ships, each over 400 metres long, are the largest to ever sail under the German flag. Both are equipped with advanced LNG dual-fuel engines and energy-efficient designs. They will boost our capacity on currently longer transit routes around the Cape of Good Hope and reinforce our Far East trades, helping to mitigate the impacts of the Red Sea crisis.

Alongside her sister vessels, the “Iquique Express”, will be a key player in the Latin America-Asia trade. The ship boasts an impressive 2,100 reefer plugs – the highest number in our fleet – which reaffirms our commitment to meeting growing demand for refrigerated transports and delivering exceptional service.

Dr. Maximilian Rothkopf, COO of Hapag-Lloyd AG
"These state-of-the-art ships will ensure that we can deliver high-quality, dependable service to our customers in addition to representing a significant step towards our ambitious decarbonisation targets for 2045, which are aligned with the 1.5°C pathway of the Paris Agreement."

Since 2021, our comprehensive newbuilding programme has aimed to introduce 17 new ships into our fleet by 2025, steering us towards a more sustainable and dynamic future.

May our three new ships sail safely and strengthen trade connections across continents for many years to come!