THE STAR, August 5th, 2002 - CHINA Shipping has launched a new 5,551 TEU vessel into its Asia-Europe Express (AEX) service from Shanghai, China.

The vessel, the mv CSCL Seattle, which made its inaugural call in Westporl last week, is the last phase in the upgrading of China Shipping's entire Asia-Europe fleets.

The vessel is 275m in length, has a depth of 24.2m, and has a width of 40, with a speed of 25 knots. It also has the capacity to carry 5,551 TEUs and up to 67,995 DWT.

The new operations structure now consist of eight highspeed vessel from the 5,551 TEU class, which has replaced the company's former fleet of 2,700 to 3,000 TEU vessels.

The AEX service covers the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo,Xiamen, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Westport, Valencia, Felixstowe, Antwerp, Rotterdam,and Hamburg before returning to Chiwan via Hong Kong,Oingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Xiamen.