Container ships keep on getting bigger and bigger – and the largest yet to sail the high seas in north Europe has berthed at Felixstowe.
The Madrid Maersk, currently on its maiden voyage, arrived late last night and is the first vessel to carry more than 20,000 boxes to be seen in Harwich Harbour.
Port officials said the ship is now alongside Berths 8&9, the newest quay at Felixstowe, and will be offloading 6,000 containers of goods from China and Malaysia.
It is the latest in a long line of record breakers and weighs in at 214,286 tonnes, is 399 metres long, has a beam of 58.6m and can carry up to 20,568 standard-sized boxes.
The previous largest to visit Felixstowe was the Barzan, carrying 19,870 boxes, operated by UASC (United Arab Shipping Company).
The largest in the world is the OOCL Hong Kong, which can carry 21,413 containers.
Clemence Cheng, chief executive officer of the Port of Felixstowe and managing director of Hutchison Ports Europe, said: “The Port of Felixstowe is firmly established as the port of first-choice in the UK for the largest mega ships.
“We were the first in the UK to handle this latest class of vessel and continue to offer the widest and most frequent range of services on the major Asia-Europe trade.”
Built by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the Madrid Maersk is the first of Maersk Line’s 2nd generation Triple-Es, known officially as the EEE Mark II. The original Triple-Es have been regular callers at Felixstowe since 2013. Delivery of the remaining 10 Triple-E Mark II’s is expected to take place between now and the middle of 2018.
Brian Godsafe, managing director UK & Ireland, Maersk Line, said: “With this maiden call of Madrid Maersk, we have yet another opportunity to celebrate our good cooperation with the Port of Felixstowe.
“As the latest addition to our modern fleet, this new vessel continues our commitment to serve our customers around the world in an even more efficient, environmentally-friendly and sustainable way.”
The Madrid Maersk is operated on the 2M NEU2 Asia to Europe service and arrived at Felixstowe from Algeciras.
The 2M service has called at Felixstowe since its inception in January 2015.
In addition to its core members, Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), capacity is also now offered on 2M sailings by Hamburg Sud and Hyundai Merchant Marine.
Do you have any photos of the Madrid Maersk at Felixstowe? Email them to newsroom@archant.co.uk to submit them via iWitness.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here