New container ship for Hamburg Sud christened
Romanian newbuild christened in Montevideo...

On the evening of 14th January 2010 the "Rio Madeira" was christened in Montevideo (Uruguay). She is the final newbuilding of a series of six identical Hamburg Süd container vessels, each with a slot capacity of 5,900 TEU. Sponsor of the "Rio Madeira" was Katharina von Malaisé.

Following her delivery at Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries (DMHI) in Romania in mid-November 2009, the "Rio Madeira" was briefly deployed in the service between Asia and South America East Coast. Straight after the christening in Montevideo, she is to be phased into the shipping group's Europe - South America East Coast Service.

The ship is named after the Amazon's largest tributary, the 1,500 kilometre long Rio Madeira.

This year will see the delivery of another four Hamburg Süd container ships. Scheduled for delivery in the first six months are two "Cap" vessels of 4,600 TEU apiece, to be followed in the second half of the year by two ships of the "Santa" class. Each boasting a slot capacity of 7,100 TEU, the latter will be the largest vessels in the history of the shipping group.

Technical specifications of the "Rio Madeira":

Capacity: 80,115 tdw
Container capacity: 5,900 TEU
Reefer container plugs: 1,365
Length overall: 286.45 m
Length between perpendiculars: 273.45 m
Breadth: 40.00 m
Draught max.: 13.50 m
Speed: 23.0 kn
Main engine output: 45,760 kW