Introducing Lady Pink Cecilia, the locomotive celebrating the remarkable career of Cecilia Eckelmann Battistello

Contship Italia unveils a new locomotive with a special livery dedicated to its iconic President

Contship Italia pays tribute to its President Cecilia Eckelmann Battistello with a new locomotive with a dedicated design, model TRAXX 494 551 by RAILPOOL. The special livery commemorates Battistello’s life and career, underlining her significant impact on logistics and shipping.
The Lady Pink Cecilia was unveiled in the presence of Eurokai’s shareholders — namely Thomas, Tom, and Katja Eckelmann — on December 11th by Matthieu Gasselin, CEO of Contship Italia, and Nora Rossi, General Manager of Oceanogate.

A tribute to a visionary and determined woman with an extraordinary career: ‘In life, you need color,’ Cecilia had commented when in 1992 she ended up in the pages of The Times for having painted a ship entirely in pink, a bright and decidedly unusual shade for the sector, a hue that expresses both charisma and femininity; the same that the entrepreneur exuded in a purely male world. The pink of the Contship Germany ship is not just a color: it represents a powerful message of innovation, female leadership, and cultural change in the shipping industry. Today, that same shade no longer defines container ships but now characterizes the locomotives, cranes, and trucks of the Contship Group.

The livery, featuring the iconic pink alongside other pop colors, portrays the legendary pink ship Contship Germany — arguably the most famous container cargo ship in the world — and a young Cecilia’s gaze in the background.

The Group’s past successes, built with passion and vision, continue to inspire Contship people every day. ‘The Lady Pink Cecilia is not just a locomotive: it’s a symbol of dreams, determination, and a legacy that runs through Italy, proudly serving our customers,’ said Matthieu Gasselin. ‘If you see it whizzing through Genoa, La Spezia, Padua, Milan, Trieste, or Naples,’ he continued, ‘stop for a moment and be inspired. It is not just a means of transport, but the beating heart of a story that continues to travel into the future’.