THE 20,170 TEU MOL Triumph, which has been operating on the FE2 service between Northern Europe and Asia within the "THE Alliance" since April, made her maiden call at Le Havre in late May.
The MOL Triumph - the world's third largest containership after the OOCL Hong Kong and the Maersk Madrid - was however the first ship to pass the symbolic mark of 20,000 TEU in capacity. Built in South Korea by the shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries, the MOL Triumph is one of the six vessels ordered by MOL. The Japanese ship-owner will take delivery of the other four sister-ships in the course of the year. The MOL Trust was delivered late May and is scheduled to arrive at Le Havre on July 23.
HAROPA - the union of the French ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris - is directly connected to the ports in the north of China. The ports of call when sailing from HAROPA ports are Jebel Ali, Hong Kong, Qingdao, Xingang, Dalian, Shanghai and Ningbo.
Senior managing executive officer of the liner department of MOL, Akihiko Ono said: "The MOL Triumph concentrates high levels of eco-technology both as regards her design, her fittings, painting and capacity to use LNG fuel. In addition, MOL practises the 'eco-sailing', which means steering the vessel saving the energy used at the maximum while guaranteeing the call time schedule."
"The best ports are also needed in order to accommodate the largest vessels, reminded Baptiste Maurand, deputy CEO of the Port of Le Havre Authority. "Port 2000 was designed to berth the largest vessels in operation today and tomorrow, 24/7, with no limitation of tides or draught. This advantage is essential for Le Havre which, so far, is one of the few major North-European ports to be able to provide berthing for fully loaded ships."
