World's Largest Container Vessel Makes First Call at Chinese Shipping Terminal

CHINA – Yesterday saw the inaugural visit of the world’s largest container vessel, the 18,000 TEU Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller, to Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT), a Hutchison Port Holdings Trust facility, where 1,682 boxes were handled whilst celebrations took place. YICT has now seen virtually all of the world total of 168 ‘mega carriers’, container ships with capacities in excess of 10,000 TEU, with around 95% of the giant vessels calling at the South Eastern Chinese port. One hundred and fifty guests including Shenzhen and Yantian government officials and executives from YICT and shipping line Maersk joined in a ceremony to welcome the ship.

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller is the first of the Triple E series to see service, soon to be joined by sister ships as detailed in previous articles, and leading the celebrations was David Skov, Head of Maersk Line South China accompanied by Patrick Lam, Managing Director of YICT, who commented:

“The choice of YICT as a port-of-call for Maersk’s newest and largest containership is a testament to shipping lines’ confidence in our expertise when it comes to handling mega-vessels. YICT has the geographical advantage of a deep-water draft together with contiguous berths and state-of-the-art operational technology, making it a preferred port-of-call in the region for mega-vessels and reinforcing its position as a gateway connecting South China and the world.”

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller measures 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and is deployed on the Maersk’s Asia-Europe service. The ship is the first of the line’s Triple-E series, which were designed with the three design principles of efficiency, economies of scale and the environmental impact borne in mind.

Photo: The giant vessel arrives at Yantian.