The MSC Oscar recently called at the Port of Le Havre on October 18, 2015 for the first time at the TNMSC Terminal of Port 2000.
It is to date the world’s largest container vessel in terms of loading capacity, being able to accommodate 19,224 TEU.
The requirements of some port infrastructures in Europe has obliged MSC to limit the length of the ship to 395.4 metres, with a width of 59 metres, and maintaining a draught of 16 metres.
Oscar has a deadweight tonnage up to 196,000 tonnes.
With an optimised hull shape for business speeds lower than before, the maximum speed of the vessel is higher than 22 knots.
The MSC Oscar is operated on the Albatross Asia-Europe service. This service directly links the Asian ports of Dalian, Busan, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas to the port of Le Havre – the first port of call on the North-European range.
In other news, MSC has announced the withdrawal of its ‘Great Sea’ service that operates between Asia and the Black Sea. The service will cease operation on Asia export sailings from the first week of November. The string currently operates nine vessels with a nominal capacity of 5,500 TEU.
Caroline Becquart, Senior Vice President of MSC, said: “The decision to withdraw this service is due to unexpectedly low demand out of Asia. We have to adapt our capacity to the demand in these difficult times.”
Fact File: MSC is a privately-owned global shipping company founded in 1970 by Gianluigi Aponte. As one of the world’s leading container shipping lines, MSC operates 480 offices across 150 countries worldwide with over 24,000 employees. With access to an integrated network of road, rail and sea transport resources which stretches across the globe, the company prides itself on delivering global service with local knowledge. MSC’s shipping line sails on more than 200 trade routes, calling at over 315 ports.
