BBC Chartering christens second LakerMax, BBC Houston

BBC Chartering has christened the second in the series of fifteen 13,000 dwt LakerMax multipurpose triple-deckers, the BBC Houston. The christening was held at the Port of Houston. 

Prior to the naming ceremony, the BBC Houston had concluded her maiden voyage from China to New Orleans, Louisiana, delivering a load of air coolers and accessories. The vessel subsequently called several berths in Houston to pick up cargo before proceeding to the Manchester Terminal for the completion cargo and the ceremony. Following the celebrations, the BBC Houston immediately commenced her next voyage, with Kolkata, India being her next destination.

“Naming the BBC Houston in her namesake port after completion of her maiden voyage felt like more than the right thing to do,” said Tim Kopfensteiner, President and CEO of Houston-based BBC Chartering USA. “It was a real pleasure to finally see this ground-breaking vessel for ourselves, and being able to show it to our customer friends and partners made us really proud.”

“It was an honour to be a part of this celebration and I hope she will serve and protect her crew for many years to come,” said Daniela Pena Kopfensteiner, the godmother of the BBC Houston, who works as a chartering broker at BBC Chartering USA.

Like her sister vessels, the BBC Houston is a multipurpose triple-decker with a lifting capacity of up to 500 metric tons. Her optimized deck layout and forward location of the bridge and accommodation allow for an unobstructed 2,830 sqm of space on the weather deck, with 26,000 cbm and 5,500 sqm covered floor space. In addition, her fuel consumption is less than that of vessels of comparable dimensions. This combination reduces GHG emissions per freight ton carried by up to 30 per cent.