On Friday 19 May, around 3 p.m., the MOL Triumph is expected to arrive at the quay of Rotterdam World Gateway at Maasvlakte 2 (port number 8980). This will be the first time that a container ship with a capacity of over 20,000 TEU (the standard capacity unit for container ships) calls on the port of Rotterdam.
Image courtesy of Port of Rotterdam
The arrival of the Triumph foreshadows a wonderful container month for Rotterdam that is coming up in June. For more than two years, the MSC Oscar headed the global ranking of largest container ships. This spring however, the vessel was pushed out of the Top 3. Over the next few weeks, the three ULCCs (ultra-large container carriers) that lead the pack will be calling on our port. This underlines the continued importance of scaling-up in the container handling sector.
On Saturday 10 June, Rotterdam expects to welcome the Madrid Maersk, which has a cargo capacity of 20,568 TEU. And in the night of 23 on 24 June, the OOCL Hong Kong will be mooring at Euromax. With a capacity of 21,100 TEU, this ship was recently recognised as the world’s largest container vessel.
Rotterdam’s container sector chalked up remarkable growth figures in the first quarter of 2017 (8.8% in volume (TEU); 10.8% in weight). The new terminals at Maasvlakte 2 are starting to pick up steam, and shipping lines have moved sizeable volumes of cargo that they had begun to transport via different locations in late 2015-early 2016 back to Rotterdam again.
Source: Port of Rotterdam