Large Container Ships Make More Calls at Rotterdam

Very large container ships — with capacities of more than 10,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units — made 70 calls during the first half of this year at Rotterdam, where they loaded and discharged an average of 4,650 TEUs per call, the port authority said.

Maersk Line ships accounted for 22 of the port calls, some of which were separate calls for loading and unloading. Other carriers that sent super-size ships to Rotterdam were CMA CGM with 15; Hanjin, 13; Cosco, 11 and MSC, nine.

The highest volume loaded and discharged by one of the ships was 8,053 TEUs on a port call in April.

The 70 calls during the first half of 2010 compared with 52 such calls in the first half of 2009.

Rotterdam officials said the number of large ships at the port will increase with the delivery of at least 10 of the vessels between June and September for MSC, Maersk and CMA CGM. Most of these vessels will be deployed in a new joint Asia-Europe service scheduled to call at Rotterdam for the first time Aug. 8. (source: Joseph Bonney, The Journal of Commerce)

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