“The Panama Canal is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world, and is a spectacular feat of engineering and architecture. It has provided the world with a vital inter-oceanic link, and has had an unprecedented impact on the world shipping industry. The current Panama Canal expansion project, due to be completed in 2014, is the most ambitious plan since the Canal was constructed. We are very honoured to name our newest vessel after such a fascinating and historically important part of the world,” said Mr CC Tung, chairman and CEO of OOIL, speaking at the vessel’s christening ceremony in Korea. “With such vessels, OOCL can improve the service we provide to our customers, offering greater economies of scale, increased capacity and frequency of sailings.”

The OOCL Panama will initially be deployed on the Asia-Australia AEA2 service. The port rotation will be: Yokohama / Osaka / Busan / Qingdao / Shanghai / Ningbo / Xiamen / Hong Kong / Kaohsiung / Melbourne / Sydney / Brisbane and back to Yokohama in a 42-day round trip.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. Headquartered in Hong Kong, OOCL is one of the world's leading container transport and logistics service providers, with more than 280 offices in 58 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. Website: http://www.oocl.com/