Tokio Express

For other uses, see Tokyo Express (disambiguation).

Tokio Express was a German-registered container ship built by Blohm + Voss in Hamburg in 1973 for Hapag-Lloyd.^[1] She formed part of the early generation of large-capacity container vessels developed during the expansion of global trade in the 1970s. Originally one of the Hamburg Express-class ships, Tokio Express served under various names and owners before being decommissioned in 2000.^[2]

Tokio Express

Tokio Express off Calshot in 1988
History
Name	Tokio Express (1973–1984) Scandutch Edo (1984–1986) Tokio Express (1986–2000)
Operator	Hapag-Lloyd[1]
Port of registry	Hamburg[1]
Builder	Blohm + Voss, Hamburg[1]
Yard number	878[1]
Laid down	12 January 1971[1]
Launched	2 November 1972[1]
Completed	12 April 1973[1]
In service	1973–2000
Identification	IMO number: 7232822[1]
Fate	Scrapped 10 January 2000, Jiangyin, China
General characteristics
Class and type	Hamburg Express-Class (1973) Container ship
Tonnage	58,082 GRT[1] 49,532 DWT[1]
Length	287.6 metres (944 ft)[1]
Beam	32.3 metres (106 ft)[1]
Installed power	Stal-Laval AP-40 turbo-electric steam turbine, 81,131 horsepower (60,499 kW)[1]
Propulsion	1 × fixed-pitch propeller[1]
Speed	23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph)[1]

Design and construction

Tokio Express was the third in a series of four Trio-class container ships commissioned by Hapag-Lloyd. Designed for global trade, the vessels had a capacity of around 3,000 TEU, which was significant for the time. Built with twin-screw propulsion originally, all ships in the class underwent conversion in the 1980s to single-screw propulsion, retaining one turbine for improved fuel efficiency.^[3]

Operational history

The vessel entered service in April 1973 under Hapag-Lloyd and remained with the company for over a decade. In 1984, she was renamed Scandutch Edo following a change in charter arrangements. The name Tokio Express was restored in 1986 and retained through multiple ownership changes in the 1990s, including Pol Gulf International and Westwind International. The ship was finally scrapped in Jiangyin, China, in January 2000.^[4][5][6]

1997 incident

Main article: 1997 Lego spill

On 13 February 1997, while en route from Rotterdam to New York City, Tokio Express encountered a rogue wave off the coast of Land's End. The impact caused the vessel to roll 60 degrees, resulting in the loss of 62 containers overboard.^[7][8]

Among these was a container carrying nearly 4.8 million Lego pieces, many from the "Lego Pirates" and "Lego Aquazone" ranges. In subsequent years, pieces from this container have been found washing up along the south-west coast of England, particularly in Cornwall, becoming a widely reported symbol of long-term marine plastic pollution.^[9][10]

Legacy

Although scrapped in 2000, the Tokio Express name has since been re-used by Hapag-Lloyd for a newer vessel launched the same year.^[11]

See also

• Transport portal

• The Great LEGO Spill of 1997
• Hansa Carrier
• Friendly Floatees
• Curtis Ebbesmeyer
• Marine plastic pollution