Hamburg Sud reefer containers

A new container vessel has been christened by Hamburg Süd this week, as the German shipping group continues to build on its fleet of 5,900 TEU capacity ships.

In a ceremony held at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, the Rio Bravo was officially welcomed into the group's fleet, the fifth newbuild in a series of six identical Hamburg Süd vessels to be delivered to the company.

The ship, which boasts a length of 286.45m and width of 40m, was first deployed on the service between Asia and the South American East Coast, before being phased into the Europe-South America East Coast service in October.

The final newbuild of the 5,900 TEU series, the Rio Madeira, is due to be delivered before the end of 2009 and will also run in the Europe-South America service.