What Crew Members Say About Valparaiso-Express

In a historic feat, the Panama Canal has made headlines by welcoming the largest capacity vessel ever to navigate its Expanded Locks: Hapag-Lloyd’s Valparaiso Express. This impressive Neopanamax containership, boasting a capacity of 10,589 TEUs, has been purposefully crafted to maximize the opportunities presented by the canal's expansion. The newly constructed locks are significantly larger than their predecessors, measuring 70 feet wider and 18 feet deeper, allowing them to accommodate vessels that can carry between 13,000 and 14,000 TEUs. The Valparaiso Express initiated its journey this morning at the Cocoli Locks on the Pacific side, after making stops at multiple ports across Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Once it traverses through the Atlantic-facing Agua Clara Locks, the vessel is scheduled to make a call at the Manzanillo International Terminal in Panama. Its journey will continue to various terminals in the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The Valparaiso Express is a key player in Hapag-Lloyd's Europe-South America West Coast service, a nine-week rotational route that integrates two existing services connecting Northern Europe with the West Coast of South America. With dimensions of 333 meters in length and 48 meters in width, it marks the first of five new vessels in Hapag-Lloyd's advanced 10,500 TEU class, all specifically designed to utilize the additional capacity afforded by the recently expanded canal. Once the remaining four ships are completed by April 2017, they too will be ready to transit the Expanded Panama Canal, further solidifying its role in global maritime trade.

In a landmark move for the maritime industry, Hapag Lloyd has successfully acquired 5,750 state-of-the-art refrigerated containers, almost all of which have been shipped aboard the newly inaugurated 'Valparaíso Express'. This vessel departed from Qingdao, China, destined for Valparaíso, Chile, where it will offload these advanced containers. The shipping giant anticipates that the 'Valparaíso Express', making its first voyage, will arrive in Valparaíso in the early days of December, perfectly timed to support the booming fruit season. Hapag Lloyd heralds the shipment of 5,000 new containers as an extraordinary milestone, stating it is 'an unprecedented fact in the industry that likely won't be replicated for decades'. This significant order includes 5,000 High Cube containers (40 feet) and 750 standard containers (20 feet), with 1,000 of them featuring cutting-edge controlled atmosphere technology. This innovation aims to cater to the increasing demand for certain fruits that require specialized handling to enhance shelf life, preserve quality, and expand marketing reach. The 'Valparaíso Express' set sail on November 5, following its completion at the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea. Capable of carrying 10,500 TEUs and equipped with 2,100 plugs for refrigerated containers, this vessel has been strategically acquired by Hapag Lloyd to focus on the southern hemisphere's fruit season. With such advancements in refrigerated transport, Hapag Lloyd is poised to significantly impact the logistics of global fruit distribution.