For the first time in Vietnam's marine history, a post-panamax cargo ship with a weight capacity of 9,000 TEU (equivalent to about 9,000 containers) has docked in the country.
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| This cargo-ship was both the largest capacity and longest to ever dock in Vietnam. |
The ship, named Mathilde Maersk and owned by Maersk Line Shipping Company (Denmark), arrived at the SP-PSA International Port (Cai Mep - Thi Vai Port, Vung Tau) yesterday, May 11.
Not only does it have the largest capacity, it's also the longest (at a length of almost 400 metres) ship to ever dock in Vietnam. If the 9,000 containers that this cargo ship can carry could be stacked up, we would have a column of containers over 23,000 metres high, which is 7 times higher than the Fansipan Mount, the highest mountain in Vietnam.
Mr. Peter Smidt-Nielsen, CEO of Vietnam & Cambodia Maersk Line said, "This is just the first trip that marks the beginning of this post-panamax cargo-ship type to travel on TP6 Route directly from Vietnam to Los Angeles (USA) operated by the Maersk Line."
A cargo ship will be departing from Vietnam's SP-PSA Port weekly on Wednesdays. The transportation period is 21 days, from the day the ship departs HCMC, to the day it docks in Los Angeles.
This will be one of seven transpacific routes in Maersk's global network line. Goods from Cambodia will be taken to Vietnam by barge first before being transported to the USA.
Previously, to test the SP-PSA Port of its capability to receive post-panamax cargo ships, the company had sent a ship named Albert Maersk, slightly smaller than the Mathilde Maersk, with a weight capacity of 8,300 TEU and over 350 metres long, testing to see if it was a plausible idea.
Before the Mathilde Maersk, the largest cargo ship that Vietnam had accepted was the MOL Premium. It came to Vietnam in June 2009 and belongs to Mitsui O.S.K Line Shipping Company with a weight capacity of 6,300 TEU. And the longest cargo ship that had come to Vietnam was the Queen Mary II. It was 345 metres long and arrived in Vietnam in Feburary 2010. However, both these records have been broken by the Mathilde Maersk.
