A blog about ships that arrive and depart from Piraeus,Greece
| IMO number | 9708837 |
|---|---|
| MMSI | 538005838 |
| Name of the ship | AL MURABBA |
| Vessel type | Container ship |
| Operating status | Active |
| Flag | Marshall Islands |
| Gross tonnage | 153148 tons |
| Deadweight | 149360 tons |
| Length | 368 m |
| Breadth | 51 m |
| Engine model | 9S90ME |
| Engine power | 37620 KW |
| Year of build | 2015 |
| Builder | HYUNDAI SAMHO HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO. LTD. - SAMHO, SOUTH KOREA |
| Classification society | DET NORSKE VERITAS |
| Owner | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
| Manager | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
| IMO number | 9732319 |
|---|---|
| MMSI | 538005844 |
| Name of the ship | AL MASHRAB |
| Former names | |
| Vessel type | Container ship |
| Operating status | Active |
| Flag | Marshall Islands |
| Gross tonnage | 153148 tons |
| Deadweight | 150000 tons |
| Length | 368 m |
| Breadth | 51 m |
| Engine type | MAN-B&W |
| Year of build | 2016 |
| Builder | HYUNDAI SAMHO HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO. LTD. - SAMHO, SOUTH KOREA |
| Classification society | DET NORSKE VERITAS |
| Owner | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
| Manager | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
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.
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.
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.
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.
AL SAFAT originally sailed under the:
Kuwait flag.
She retained this registry through much of her original UASC career.
In:
November 2016
the vessel transferred to:
Liberia,
with:
Monrovia
as her port of registry.
She continues under the Liberian flag today.
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 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.
In:
March 2023
AL SAFAT passed into direct:
Hapag-Lloyd AG ownership.
Current maritime records identify:
Marlow Ship Management Deutschland
as ISM / technical management.
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.
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.
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.
ALULA, now ALULA EXPRESS, is a large South Korean-built containership completed by Samsung Heavy Industries in 2012 as part of the UASC fleet expansion programme.
At more than 366 metres in length, 141,077 GT and 145,528 tonnes deadweight, the vessel represented a major generation of ultra-large containerships when delivered.
Following the integration of United Arab Shipping Company into Hapag-Lloyd, the vessel became part of the German carrier's fleet and subsequently adopted the name:
ALULA EXPRESS.
She remains fully active in 2026, operating long-distance container services for Hapag-Lloyd.
Current Name: ALULA EXPRESS
Former Name: ALULA
IMO: 9525883
Current MMSI: 636093172
Current Call Sign: 5LDX9
Type: Container Ship
Current Flag: Liberia
Port of Registry: Monrovia
Built: 2012
Builder: Samsung Heavy Industries, Geoje, South Korea
Original Owner / Operator: United Arab Shipping Company – UASC
Current Operator: Hapag-Lloyd
Current Technical Management: Marlow Ship Management Deutschland
Class: Lloyd's Register
Gross Tonnage: 141,077 GT
Deadweight: 145,528 t
Length Overall: approx. 366–368 m
Beam: 48.20 m
Container Capacity: approx. 13,900 TEU
Main Engine: MAN B&W 12K98ME-C
Main Engine Power: approx. 71,760 kW
Current Status: Active
ALULA was completed in:
2012
at Samsung Heavy Industries' massive Geoje shipyard in South Korea.
The ship formed part of a series of large UASC containerships designed for long-distance east-west liner services.
Her dimensions included approximately:
366 m length
and:
48.2 m beam.
The vessel has a deadweight of:
145,528 tonnes.
Gross tonnage is:
141,077 GT.
These figures placed ALULA among the major mainline containerships of her generation.
The vessel was equipped with a:
MAN B&W 12K98ME-C
main engine.
Original PiraeuShips technical data gives approximately:
71,760 kW
of main-engine power.
This machinery was designed for the high-capacity long-distance trades between Asia, the Middle East and Europe that formed the backbone of the UASC network.
ALULA entered service for:
UASC – United Arab Shipping Company.
The Kuwait-headquartered carrier was jointly owned by several Gulf states and developed a substantial global liner presence.
The vessel's name reflected the company's tradition of using regional Arabic place names and terminology throughout its fleet.
ALULA was documented by PiraeuShips in:
February 2019.
At that time she was still recorded under:
Malta flag
with:
Valletta
as home port.
The PiraeuShips entry recorded:
141,077 GT
145,528 DWT
and:
366 m length.
A major corporate change had already occurred by this stage.
In 2017, UASC merged with:
Hapag-Lloyd.
The transaction transferred UASC's modern fleet of large containerships into one of the world's largest liner shipping groups.
ALULA consequently became part of Hapag-Lloyd's owned fleet.
The vessel subsequently received the expanded name:
ALULA EXPRESS.
Her current registered identity is:
ALULA EXPRESS
under the:
Liberian flag.
Her radio identity is:
MMSI 636093172
Call Sign 5LDX9.
Current certification identifies:
Marlow Ship Management Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
as the ship-management company.
Hapag-Lloyd remains associated with the vessel commercially and as owner/operator interests.
Current commercial databases list approximately:
13,900 TEU
of nominal container capacity.
That makes ALULA EXPRESS comparable in size with a generation of vessels that remain highly useful on the major intercontinental trade lanes even after the arrival of 20,000+ TEU ultra-large container ships.
ALULA EXPRESS remains fully operational in:
2026.
September schedules show her operating for Hapag-Lloyd on the:
ME1 / Indian Ocean Service,
including long-distance voyages linking:
Northern Europe
with:
India and the Middle East.
Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk schedule systems also show forward voyages for the ship through late 2026.
ALULA was recorded at Piraeus by PiraeuShips in 2019 during the transition period following the integration of United Arab Shipping Company into Hapag-Lloyd. Built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea in 2012, the 141,077-GT containership was originally operated by UASC and measured more than 366 metres in length with a deadweight of 145,528 tonnes. The vessel subsequently became ALULA EXPRESS, transferred to the Liberian flag and today operates within the Hapag-Lloyd network with technical management by Marlow Ship Management Deutschland. Still fully active in 2026 on major international container services, the PiraeuShips footage preserves the vessel under her shorter original ALULA identity and during an important corporate transition in modern liner shipping.
| IMO number | 9349502 |
|---|---|
| MMSI | 636017671 |
| Name of the ship | AL KHARJ |
| Former names | AL KH (2018, Liberia) HATTA (2016, United Arab Emirates) |
| Vessel type | Container ship |
| Operating status | Active |
| Flag | Liberia |
| Gross tonnage | 75579 tons |
| Deadweight | 85614 tons |
| Lenght | 306 m |
| Breadth | 40 m |
| Draft | 15 m |
| Engine model | 10RT-FLEX 96C |
| Year of build | 2008 |
| Builder | HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES ULSAN |
| Class society | LLOYD'S SHIPPING REGISTER |
| Home port | DUBAI |
| Owner | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
| Manager | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
| IMO number | 9525936 |
|---|---|
| MMSI | 229007000 |
| Name of the ship | JEBEL ALI |
| Vessel type | Container ship |
| Year of build | 2012 |
| Operating status | Active |
| Gross tonnage | 141077 tons |
| DWT | 145149 tons |
| Flag | Malta |
| Home port | VALLETTA |
| Builder | SAMSUNG SHIPBUILDING & HEAVY INDUSTRIES GOEJE, SOUTH KOREA |
| Class society | LLOYD'S SHIPPING REGISTER |
| Owner | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |
| Manager | UASC - SAFAT, KUWAIT |