DP World Southampton welcomes its largest vessel ever

The HMM Oslo, the biggest vessel ever to call at DP World Southampton, arrived at the U.K. port early Friday morning.

The Oslo has a capacity of 23,820 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). At 399.9 meters long, the Oslo is longer than The Shard skyscraper in London is tall. 

Last week, the Oslo’s sister ship, the HMM Algeciras, docked at DP World’s London Gateway in Essex. Both vessels are part of HMM’s order of 12 megaships. Samsung Heavy Industries built the HMM Oslo.

The HMM Oslo could tower over some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. (Image courtesy of DP World)

“The HMM Oslo joins around 200 other container ships that have called at DP World Southampton during the lockdown since March, keeping essential food, fuel and medicines flowing to sustain the country,” said Ernst Schulze, the U.K. chief executive officer for DP World. “Our ongoing investment and innovation mean that we are well-placed to support an economic recovery which is not just strong but also green and sustainable.”

Peter Livey, the U.K. managing director for HMM, said the new class of container ships is not only groundbreaking in size but “in world-leading environmental performance too. Their optimized hull design and highly energy-efficient engines make a significant leap forward in reducing CO2 and other emissions.

“It’s all part of our long-term goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across our container fleet by 2050,” Livey said.

The Oslo arrived at Southampton after calls at ports in China, Singapore and the Netherlands. The vessel is scheduled to depart for its homeport in South Korea on Saturday and will visit France, Germany, the Netherlands and Singapore on the way.

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Click for more FreightWaves/American Shipper articles by Kim Link-Wills.