The MSC Maya, the fourth of 20 Oscar-Class Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS), arrived at APM Terminals (APMT) Gothenburg on December 21 from the Port of Bremerhaven as part of the regular port rotation of the Maersk Line/MSC AE-2/Swan Far East/North Europe Service in the 2M alliance.
With a capacity of 19,224 TEU, Oscar-class vessels are the world’s current record holders in container carrying capacity. These ULCS are 396 metres-long, and require a depth of 16 metres.
Peter Hägg, Vessel Planner at APMT Gothenburg, said: “This is the only port in Sweden with a water depth to handle vessels this large.”
The MSC Maya will be in port for only a total of 35 hours. A total of 50 port staff are assigned to work three shifts to move containers onto and off of the vessel.
Crane operations and container movements in the yard, performed by straddle carriers, are part of optimised operations to ensure maximum productivity during the vessel call window.
The final vessel loading and unloading planning was completed 24 hours before arrival to take account of weather and wind conditions, as well as the exact arrival time of the ship at the port.
In January 2016, APMT Gothenburg will host the MSC Zoe, the next of the Oscar-class vessels entering into the MSC fleet.
Fact File: APMT Gothenburg began operations in January of 2012, after being announced the winner of the concession bidding process for the existing Skandia Container Terminal concession in October, 2011. The company is investing US$115 million in the facility to establish Gothenburg as a deep-water hub for Scandinavia and the Baltic area. Gothenburg’s overall container throughput was 837,000 TEU in 2014, with APMT Gothenburg handling 759,000 TEU, approximately half of all Swedish container traffic for the year.