OOCL Honored with Utahn Guests at OOCL Utah Christening Ceremony
At a christening ceremony for the naming of the OOCL Utah in Shanghai today, OOCL was honored to celebrate the occasion with business partners, distinguished guests, and friends representing the State of Utah that brought special meaning to the event.
The OOCL Utah is an 8,888 TEU containership built by one of the finest shipyards in China, the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Company, and the newest addition to OOCL’s international fleet of free trade ambassadors, linking trade across the Pacific through our South China 2 service.
As a Hong Kong-based company with strong connections to China and the United States, OOCL is very pleased that Shanghai is the location for the christening ceremony of the OOCL Utah. “China and the United States have a very important trading relationship,” said Mr. Andy Tung, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL in his ceremonial address. “For over 40 years, OOCL have been involved in the container transportation business facilitating trade and commerce between the two markets, witnessing how the countries grew and benefited from the success of global transportation, which is the life blood of world trade.”
In officiating the naming of the new vessel after the American State of Utah, OOCL was deeply honored with the presence of two important Utahns, Mrs. Nancy Hale, as our Sponsor, and her husband, Mr. Val Hale, Executive Director of Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, as our Guest of Honor.
(L-R) Mr. Val Hale, Executive Director of Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development;
Mrs. Nancy Hale, Sponsor of OOCL Utah; Captain Teoh Beng Teik, Captain of OOCL Utah; Dr. Rulin Fuong Tung,
wife of Mr. Andy Tung; Mr. Andy Tung, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL
Reflecting on OOCL’s relationship with the Utah community, Mr. Tung said: “A few years ago, in our consideration to establish our Integrated Management and Service Center in North America, we looked deeply into Utah’s infrastructure and business community and saw opportunities for us to grow and strengthen our services by setting up the office in Salt Lake City. OOCL’s motto to ‘Take it personally’ in all that we do is paramount to our success in bringing quality product and services to customers and is deeply rooted in our culture. We are also dedicated to establishing strong and lasting partnerships, and we are very happy to have friends and colleagues from the Utah community with us in our journey providing a ‘Vital Link’ to world trade.”
Following the Sponsor’s blessings to OOCL Utah and her crew, Mr. Hale represented the State of Utah to welcome OOCL’s commitment and presence in the Utahn community and expressed the importance of working together to facilitate trade and cultural exchange between our nations. "Utah's skilled workforce, business friendly environment and quality of life have attracted many companies from all over the world, and we are pleased that OOCL agrees that we are a good match,” said Mr. Hale. “We especially look forward to continuing to build bridges and maintain our heritage of language and cultural diversity. OOCL's Integrated Management and Service Center in Utah will certainly benefit from that heritage, just as we will benefit from the company's presence."
OOCL Utah is the sixth of the eight 8,888 TEU vessels that OOCL had commissioned Hudong-Zhonghua to build. She will begin her service on OOCL’s Trans-Pacific SC2 (South China 2) service with the following port rotation: Da Chan Bay / Hong Kong / Yantian / Kaohsiung / Long Beach / Kaohsiung / Xiamen / Hong Kong / Da Chan Bay.
Vessel Particulars
“Orient Overseas Container Line” and “OOCL” are trade names for transportation provided separately by: Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (“OOCLL”) and OOCL (Europe) Limited respectively and both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Orient Overseas (International) Limited, a public company (0316) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Hong Kong, OOCL is one of the world's largest integrated international container transportation and logistics companies, with more than 320 offices in 70 countries. Linking Asia, Europe, North America, the Mediterranean, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand, the company offers transportation services to all major east/west trading economies of the world. OOCL is one of the leading international carriers serving China, providing a full range of logistics and transportation services throughout the country. It is also an industry leader in the use of information technology and e-commerce to manage the entire cargo process. (http://www.oocl.com/)
