The largest Maersk Line container ship ever to call Indian shores arrived Thursday at the Port of Cochin, a major cargo hub on the India’s southeast coast, Journal of Commerce reports.The 319-meter Maersk Sembawang, built in 2007, docked at the DP World-operated Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal to discharge about 1,600 import containers.
The Singapore-flag Sembawang weighs 85,250 tons and has a nominal capacity of 6,478 20-foot equivalent units.
VICTT, which opened in February this year, is India’s first container transshipment facility. The $500 million terminal is the initial phase in DP World’s three-phase development at Vallarpadam, a build-operate-transfer project.
“Maersk Line's decision to bring the Maersk Sembawang to Cochin reflects the growing faith of global shipping lines in the potential of the infrastructure at the Cochin Port,” DP World Cochin said.
Officials said the record-setting vessel arrived from Europe through the Suez Canal and is scheduled to leave for China on Friday.
VICTT offers an annual capacity of 1 million TEUs in the first phase and 3 million TEUs when fully commissioned.
The terminal features six super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes and 15 rubber-tired gantry cranes, supplemented by an alongside draft of 14.5 meters. It also has dedicated rail connectivity with hinterland destinations,
Cochin handled 312,000 TEUs in fiscal 2010-11, which ended March 31, 2011. Volume during April to June, the first three months of fiscal 2011-12, dropped to 82,000 TEUs from 85,000 TEUs a year earlier.
The Singapore-flag Sembawang weighs 85,250 tons and has a nominal capacity of 6,478 20-foot equivalent units.
VICTT, which opened in February this year, is India’s first container transshipment facility. The $500 million terminal is the initial phase in DP World’s three-phase development at Vallarpadam, a build-operate-transfer project.
“Maersk Line's decision to bring the Maersk Sembawang to Cochin reflects the growing faith of global shipping lines in the potential of the infrastructure at the Cochin Port,” DP World Cochin said.
Officials said the record-setting vessel arrived from Europe through the Suez Canal and is scheduled to leave for China on Friday.
VICTT offers an annual capacity of 1 million TEUs in the first phase and 3 million TEUs when fully commissioned.
The terminal features six super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes and 15 rubber-tired gantry cranes, supplemented by an alongside draft of 14.5 meters. It also has dedicated rail connectivity with hinterland destinations,
Cochin handled 312,000 TEUs in fiscal 2010-11, which ended March 31, 2011. Volume during April to June, the first three months of fiscal 2011-12, dropped to 82,000 TEUs from 85,000 TEUs a year earlier.