Hamburg Süd christens new ship

The vessel Monte Aconcagua was christened in Hong Kong last week.

I find it a bit strange that in this day and age, with hurricanes named using both male and female names, it is still the customary to have women christen ships.

The name of this ship comes from Monte (for mountain) and Aconcagua is from Cerro Aconcagua

Cerro Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas, and the highest mountain outside Asia. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza. The summit is located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the international border with Chile.

Here is the press release from Hamburg Sued.

Hamburg Süd: Final "Monte" class ship christened in Hong Kong

Hamburg, 2 June 2009. Friday, 29 May, saw the "Monte Aconcagua", the
last of a series of ten of Hamburg Süd's successful 5,552 TEU "Monte"
class, christened in Hong Kong. The container ship's sponsor was
Luise Klus, daughter of Dr Ingeborg von Schubert, Chairlwoman of the
Advisory Board of the Gundlach Group, Bielefeld.

Following the naming ceremony, the "Monte Aconcagua" was phased into
Hamburg Süd's Asia - South Africa/South America East Coast Service
(New Good Hope Express).

In addition, Hamburg Süd will be adding three further "Rio" class
vessels to its fleet until the end of the year. They have a container
capacity of 5,900 TEU, making them one bay longer than the ships of
the "Monte" class. The "Rio" ships are to be phased into the shipping
group's Europe - South America East Coast Service, gradually
replacing the "Monte" vessels, which will then operate in the Asia -
South Africa/South America East Coast Service.

Technical data of the "Monte Aconcagua":

Capacity 71,270 tdw
Container capacity 5,552 TEU
Length overall 272.00 m
Length between perpendiculars 259.00 m
Breadth 40.00 m
Draught max. 13.20 m
Speed 23.3 kn
Main engine output 45,765 kW

You can download a photo of the christening at www.hamburgsud.com
under Press & Media/Photo Gallery (Ship christenings).