Colombo Express holds 8,749 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), 730 refrigerated (reefer) TEUs, is 335 metres (1,099 ft) long, and has a beam, or width, of 43 metres (140 ft).

She is named for Colombo, the largest city in Sri Lanka, which the predecessor company, North American Lloyd, first called on in 1886.

[3] Built in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2004–2005, she was christened on 11 April 2005, and her diesel engine generates 69,700 kilowatts (93,500 hp) of power.

Colombo Express operates out of the home port of Hamburg, and will mainly travel from Europe to Southeast Asia and back in 56-day round-trips.

On 29 September 2014, Colombo Express was involved in a collision with MV Maersk Tanjong, sustained a 20-metre (65 ft) dent to its left side and causing delays to traffic through the Suez Canal.