17 February 2011 saw the naming of two more 13,100TEU container vessels for Rickmers Group in Ulsan, Korea. Leo Rickmers and Scorpio Rickmers will come into service for their charterer Maersk Line as Maersk Edmonton and Maersk Elba. Leo Rickmers was named by Manuela Steffens, wife of Jan Boje Steffens, CEO and Managing Partner of Rickmers Holding while Joan Engelstoft, wife of Morten Engelstoft, Senior Vice President and COO of Maersk Line, named Scorpio Rickmers.

Built by the world’s largest shipyard, Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Korea, the two new vessels belong to a series of eight 13,100 TEU container ships which have been chartered for a ten-year-period to Maersk Line. Four similar sister vessels were delivered last summer.

With a length of 366m and a breadth of 48.2m, these ships will be capable of navigating the “new” Panama Canal, after its completion. Propulsion is by a Hyundai-Wartsila diesel engine, which gives a max service speed of 24.3 knots at an output of approx 68,000kW. The main engine is also able to run at considerably lower output and speed, making “slow steaming” possible. Furthermore this reduces both CO2 and SOx emissions to a minimum.

With the delivery of these two 13,100TEU vessels, the fleet of Rickmers Group has grown to 116 units.