SHE will carry the name of Southampton proudly on her bow as she voyages the great oceans taking the city's name to all corners of the globe.

Today the port of Southampton was set to celebrate the maiden visit of the brand new vessel, OOCL Southampton, destined to become a familiar sight in the docks.

The massive Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) ship is the 12th in a series of similar vessels ordered from, and built by, Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea.

OOCL Southampton, which cost tens of millions of pounds to build and which has a crew of 19, was officially named in Korea's Geoje shipyard by Mariana Cheng, the wife of the chairman of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

The ship, which has the capacity to carry up to 8,063 container units at a service speed of more than 25 knots, will be used on the busy trading route that now links Europe with the industrial powerhouse of the Far East.

During her regular 63-day round trip OOCL Southampton will begin her voyage in Taiwan, before leaving for China, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Amsterdam, Southampton and the Middle East before returning to the original port of Kaohsiung.

The ship will play a vital role in Southampton's rapidly expanding container ship trade, especially on the busy routes to and from China.

More than 90 per cent of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry and without these vessels the import and export of goods on the scale demanded by modern consumers would not be possible.

Today there are about 50,000 merchant ships trading internationally and transporting every kind of cargo.

The world fleet is registered in more than 150 nations.

With headquarters in Hong Kong, OOCL has more than 230 offices in 58 countries.