First triple-E vessel calls Antwerp
A new record was set in the Deurganck dock in the port of Antwerp last week (wk 23), when the “Madrid Maersk” moored there for the first time. At 399 m long and boasting a capacity of 20,568 teu, it is the largest containership ever to call at the Belgian port. 7,000 containers were moved whilst the ship was berthed.
The “Madrid Maersk” left the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering yard in South Korea in spring this year, after which it began its maiden trip. The leviathan first called at the port of Tianjin (China) on 27 April.
Thanks to the deepening of the Scheldt, which ensured the necessary draught at certain crucial places in the river from 2010 onwards, Antwerp has managed to keep pace with the increase in the scale of shipping.
From January to May this year 68 box carriers with capacities ranging from 14,000 to 18,000 teu have already called Antwerp. In the +18,000 teu category, the number of vessel calls stands at 43 after the first five months of 2017. (kd)