E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie, the shipping company in the Nordcapital group, of Hamburg, Germany, is a service provider for large liner shipping companies worldwide. It currently has some 76 container ships in service and under construction with a combined output of about 340,000 TEU. Most are on long-term employment with major charterers

The Safmarine Zambezi is one of six 2496 TEU containerships built in 2002–2003 for E.R. Schiffahrt by SSW Fähr- und Spezialschiffbau GmbH in Germany. The ships are of the SSW Super 25 design.

Wärtsilä solution
Wärtsilä supplied the main engines and propellers for the Safmarine Zambezi and her sister ships. Each is propelled by a Sulzer 7RTA72U-B low-speed marine diesel engine having a maximum continuous power output of 21,560 kW at 99 rpm. The main engine directly drives a LIPS fixed pitch propeller of 7.0 m diameter.