Shortly after the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, service to Russian ports was suspended. Several shipping lines then relocated their container ships to other lines. But the country could not remain without importing or exporting. New arms with opaque capital then arrived on the market, specially created to serve the vast country. As happened with the ships of the Iranian national company a few years ago, container ships purchased second-hand were renamed with completely anonymous names.
Destination Saint Petersburg
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, one of these went up the Strait of Pas de Calais with Saint Petersburg as its line of sight. This is the Flying Fish 1. Built by the South Korean Hyundai HI shipyard in Ulsan for the German shipping company Hapag Lloyd (under charter to a Greek company), it was put into service in October 2000 under the name Kuala Lumpur Express. With a deadweight of 66,793 tonnes, it has a capacity of 4,843 20-foot containers (TEU).
Of the “Panamax” type, it has a length of 294.10 meters, a width of 32.20 and a draft of 13.55 meters. Strangely and unlike other European or Asian armaments, the Flying Fish 1 returned from China via the Suez Canal, with a stopover at Port Said. She currently cruises at an average speed of 15.5 knots thanks to her 40,040 kW (54,450 hp) 7-cylinder MAN-B&W/HHI engine. Its crew consists of 17 Chinese and Filipinos.
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