For the first time in its history, shipping company Hamburg
Süd has celebrated the christening of a ship in the United States. The ceremony
to name the 3,800-TEU container ship Cap Corrientes was conducted Aug 23
at the Port of San Francisco’s Pier 35.
The Cap Corrientes was built by Taizhou
Catic Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Ltd in China for Vilmaris Management GmbH of
Hamburg, Germany. The ship, which has a capacity of 500 reefer plugs, is 748
feet long, more than 121 feet wide and can reach a top speed of 20.3 knots,
according to Hamburg Süd.
The vessel is on a long-term charter with the shipping
company for deployment in the liner trade between the Pacific Coast, Australia
and New Zealand.
Hamburg Süd started offering regular liner services to and
from California in 1957, and currently offers 14 weekly departures from all
major North American ports to Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, as well
as to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The christening was performed by Ofelia Gallo, the wife of
Joseph E. Gallo, president and CEO of the E&J Gallo Winery in Modesto,
California. She was awarded the christening honor by Hamburg Süd because
E&J Gallo is expected to be a prominent user of the vessel; Gallo and other
Northern California wineries regularly use Hamburg Süd’s vessel fleet for
global wine exports, and to import wines from around the world for bottling.
The Cap Corrientes is the third ship in
the Hamburg Süd fleet to carry this name, according to the shipping company;
the first Cap Corrientes, which was named after the province of
Corrientes in Argentina, was christened in 1958.
