THE 18,270-TEU Mary Maersk has set a record after transporting 17,603 TEU from Algeciras to Tanjung Pelepas.
As of now the ship's full capacity has not been utilised because terminals are not prepared to accommodate the added size, said head of the South Europe liner operations cluster, Carlos Arias.
"Algeciras has been preparing for full utilisation of the Triple-E for more than a year," said Mr Arias.
"This included the upgrading of four existing cranes and the arrival of four new cranes," he said, adding that the port of Tanjung Pelepas has made similar upgrades, and this marked the first time both ends were ready.
A little more than half of the containers on board were empty, being repositioned for re-use in Asia.
Of the laden containers, the ship's captain, Thorvald Hansen, said: "We have Danish cheese, frozen pork meat from Denmark, frozen beef meat from Germany, frozen berries, chocolate and candy foodstuff, frozen fish, lobster and frozen shellfish, flower bulbs from the Netherlands, pharmaceutical products, fruits and much more."
He said it has been smooth sailing on the eastbound voyage. "We were a little excited to pass Suez with such a big load, but everything worked out as planned," he said.
According to the captain, it will be a while before the feat can be repeated on an eastbound journey, but similar utilisations will soon be seen westbound.
Mary Maersk's next stop is Shenzhen's Yantian terminal with a lighter load, but by the end of the month it will be steaming west laden with Chinese exports.
WORLD SHIPPING
21 August 2014 - 21:22
Mary Maersk sails from Algeciras to Tanjung Pelepas with record load
THE 18,270-TEU Mary Maersk has set a record after transporting 17,603 TEU from Algeciras to Tanjung Pelepas.
WORLD SHIPPING
21 August 2014 - 21:22
Mary Maersk sails from Algeciras to Tanjung Pelepas with record load
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