On October 8, the port of Montreal welcomed OOCL container ship OOCL St. Lawrence on its first call to the port. With an overall length of 294.51 metres, a beam of 32.3 metres and a maximum capacity of 5,047 TEUs, this Panamax vessel is one of the largest container ships to call at the port of Montreal, which can receive post-Panamax vessels carrying up to 6,500 TEUs. OOCL St. Lawrence takes over from a smaller vessel, OOCL Belgium, on OOCL’s Gateway Express 1 service between the ports of Montreal and Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Le Havre and Liverpool. Built in South Korea in 2005, and sailing under the flag of Malta, OOCL St. Lawrence joined the OOCL fleet in March 2019.
Grace Liang, President of OOCL Canada commented that “OOCL has a long history in facilitating trade on the St. Lawrence Seaway, being the first container carrier calling the port of Montreal 50 years ago. The selection in the name of our latest vessel, OOCL St. Lawrence, shows our long-term commitment and confidence in the future of this vibrant Canadian gateway. Compared to her predecessor, the increased capacity from her deployment will be important to our strategic plans for growth. Being ice-strengthened to meet the harsh winter sailing conditions in the Trans-Atlantic service, OOCL St. Lawrence will be a welcome addition to supporting year-round trade in this region for many years to come.”