On July 28th, two container ships were christened RIO ADOUR and RIO ARDECHE at ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems' HDW-Gaarden in Kiel. Both ships were ordered by MPC Münchmeyer Petersen Steamship GmbH & Co. KG.

On the day prior to the christening, RIO ADOUR was handed over to MPC. The delivery of RIO ARDECHE is scheduled for november 2006. Both ships have been chartered by the french shipping company CMA CGM. CMA CGM is the world's third largest container shipping company.

The ships are modern container ships with a capacity of 2,490 containers, of which 958 are stowed below deck and 1,532 on deck. They have a maximum load of 34,410 tons. They are 212 metres long, 29.80 metres wide and have a maximum draught of 11.40 metres. Their cruising speed is 22 knots (around 40 km/h) with an engine power of 21,560 kW.

Note for the editor:
The godmothers:
10-year-old Kimberly Oldehaver is the daughter of Ulrich Oldehaver, CMO of MPC Capital AG.
Andrea Brezinschek is the wife of Peter Brezinschek, Chief Economist at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich (RZB).