MOL Benefactor, a 10,000-TEU containership, successfully passed through the expanded Panama Canal on July 1.

The vessel, operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., is the first neopanamax containership to perform a commercial transit through the canal’s new expanded locks. The MOL Benefactor is 1,105 feet long, 158 feet wide, and has a capacity of over 119,000 metric tons.

The MOL Benefactor, newly built and delivered to MOL in March of 2016, is also the first neopanamax vessel deployed on the G6 Alliance’s new NYX service. The NYX provides a direct link between Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, and Busan with New York, Norfolk, and Savannah on the United States east coast and also provides connections to and from Latin America via Manzanillo, Panama.

MOL’s history with the Panama Canal dates back to over 100 years ago when, in 1915, the Motor Vessel Kongosan Maru became the first MOL-operated vessel to transit the Panama Canal.

“Increased deployment of our neopanamax containerships will help MOL to encourage stronger ties with our customers and play a historic role in the expansion of global trade,” said Akihiko Ono, MOL’s managing executive officer in charge of liner business. “As we work towards our objective of becoming the logistics partner that customers think of first, we will continue to offer high quality and competitive services through fleet improvements that result in reduced fuel consumption and leading to cost competitiveness and environmental friendliness.”