AL SAFAT is a large South Korean-built containership completed by Hyundai Heavy Industries at Ulsan in 2008 for the former United Arab Shipping Company – UASC.
The 306-metre vessel was one of UASC's major mainline ships and has remarkably retained the:
AL SAFAT
name throughout her entire career.
Following the 2017 merger between UASC and Hapag-Lloyd, the ship entered the wider Hapag-Lloyd fleet.
A further major ownership change occurred in March 2023, when AL SAFAT became directly owned by Hapag-Lloyd AG.
She remains fully active in 2026.
Vessel Details
Name: AL SAFAT
IMO: 9349497
Current MMSI: 636093160
Call Sign: D5MD9
Type: Container Ship
Flag: Liberia
Port of Registry: Monrovia
Built: 2008
Builder: Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan, South Korea
Yard Number: 1832
Keel Laid: 4 September 2007
Launched: 23 November 2007
Delivered: 14 January 2008
Original Owner / Operator: United Arab Shipping Company – UASC
Current Registered Owner: Hapag-Lloyd AG
Current Management: Marlow Ship Management Deutschland
Gross Tonnage: 75,579 GT
Deadweight: 85,437 t
Length Overall: 306 m
Beam: 40 m
Nominal Container Capacity: 7,323 TEU
Maximum Published Power: 62,920 kW
Current Status: Active.
Built for UASC
AL SAFAT was completed by:
Hyundai Heavy Industries at Ulsan
in January 2008.
She was built for:
United Arab Shipping Company,
the Gulf-based liner carrier commonly known as:
UASC.
Her name refers to:
Safat in Kuwait,
reflecting UASC's traditional use of Gulf and regional place names.
7,323 TEU
Hapag-Lloyd's current official specifications give:
7,323 TEU nominal capacity,
85,437 tonnes deadweight,
and:
75,579 GT.
At the time of construction, this placed AL SAFAT firmly within the large mainline containership category.
Kuwait Flag
AL SAFAT originally sailed under the:
Kuwait flag.
She retained this registry through much of her original UASC career.
Transfer to Liberia
In:
November 2016
the vessel transferred to:
Liberia,
with:
Monrovia
as her port of registry.
She continues under the Liberian flag today.
UASC and Hapag-Lloyd
The major corporate turning point came when:
UASC merged with Hapag-Lloyd in 2017.
This brought the entire modern UASC fleet into the German carrier's network.
Unlike several former UASC ships that subsequently adopted “Express” names, AL SAFAT retained her original identity.
PiraeuShips in 2020
PiraeuShips published its dedicated:
AL SAFAT – IMO 9349497
entry in April 2020.
The article still listed:
UASC – Safat, Kuwait
as owner and manager, reflecting the historical database information from the vessel's earlier career.
This now needs updating.
Hapag-Lloyd Ownership
In:
March 2023
AL SAFAT passed into direct:
Hapag-Lloyd AG ownership.
Current maritime records identify:
Marlow Ship Management Deutschland
as ISM / technical management.
Still Active in 2026
AL SAFAT remains a frontline working containership in 2026.
In August 2026 she was photographed departing:
Rotterdam for Hamburg,
and September AIS records showed her crossing the Atlantic between:
Norfolk
and:
Southampton.
Hapag-Lloyd's official fleet page continues to list the ship with all current particulars.
No Name Change
One notable feature of the vessel's career is continuity.
Despite moving from:
UASC
to:
Hapag-Lloyd,
and from:
Kuwait
to:
Liberia,
the vessel has remained:
AL SAFAT
since delivery in January 2008.
PiraeuShips Record
AL SAFAT was recorded by PiraeuShips during the transitional period following the integration of United Arab Shipping Company into Hapag-Lloyd. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries at Ulsan and delivered in January 2008, the 306-metre containership originally sailed under the Kuwait flag as part of UASC's major mainline fleet. She transferred to the Liberian flag in 2016 and subsequently entered the Hapag-Lloyd network following the UASC merger. In March 2023 AL SAFAT became directly owned by Hapag-Lloyd AG, with current technical management associated with Marlow Ship Management Deutschland. Still fully active in 2026 and retaining the same name after eighteen years of service, the PiraeuShips footage preserves the vessel during the period when her database identity was still closely tied to the former UASC organisation.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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