100th mega ship of 2017 arrives at the Port of Felixstowe
Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe will welcome its 100th 18,000+ TEU vessel of 2017 on Thursday this week as the UK's maritime industry celebrates London International Shipping Week (LISW), the company said in its press release.
The 18,270 TEU Matz Maersk is operated by Maersk Line on the 2M Alliance's AE10/NEU2 service between Europe and Asia.
Commenting on the milestone, Clemence Cheng, Executive Director, Hutchison Ports and a member of the LISW Board of Advisors, said:
"The Port of Felixstowe is firmly established as the port of choice for the largest mega-vessels. We were the first port in the UK to handle this latest class of vessel and continue to handle more of them than any other UK port.
"15,000 industry visitors are expected to visit London International Shipping Week and this latest milestone at the Port of Felixstowe helps demonstrate how the UK remains at the forefront of the global shipping industry. The Matz Maersk will be the fourth of six mega vessels we are expecting this week and we are on course to exceed comfortably the 137 mega vessels we handled in 2016."
The other ultra-large container vessels calling during LISW are the current world's largest container ship, the 21,413 TEU OOCL Hong Kong, the 19,224 MSC Ditte, the 19,100 TEU CSCL Indian Ocean, its sister-ship and former holder of the world's largest container ship crown, the CSCL Globe and the 19,224 TEU MSC Sveva.
In addition, the Emma Maersk, which set a new standard when launched in 2006, is also due at the Port of Felixstowe this week. Now with a capacity of 17,816 TEU it is one of over 250 ultra-large container ships to call at the port so far this year.
Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe is strategically located on the UK's southeast coast and within easy reach of major ports in North West continental Europe. As the UK's first purpose-built container-handling facility, we are the largest and busiest container port in the country. With three rail terminals, it also has the busiest and biggest intermodal rail freight facility in the UK. The latest phase of development, Berths 8&9, provides additional deep-water capacity for the world's largest container ships.
Port of Felixstowe is a member of Hutchison Ports, the port and related services division of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (CK Hutchison). Hutchison Ports is the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with a network of port operations in 49 ports spanning 26 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Over the years, Hutchison Ports has expanded into other logistics and transportation-related businesses, including cruise ship terminals, airport operations, distribution centres, rail services and ship repair facilities.