Germany: Channel Deepening Allows Bremerhaven to Dock Bigger Ships

The biggest container ship in the world has docked in Bremerhaven.

Precisely one week after leaving port in Tangier, Morocco, the “CMA CGM Marco Polo” tied up at another container terminal operated by the EUROGATE Group, this time MSC Gate Bremerhaven. The “CMA CGM Marco Polo” is on her maiden voyage from Ningbo (China), where she went into service on 5 November 2012. With a length of 396 m and a transport capacity of 16,020 standard containers (TEU) she is currently the biggest container ship in the world. Yesterday she sailed from the port of Hamburg. On board were Hamburg’s economics senator Frank Horch, CMA CGM managing director Reinhard Peschel and Emanuel Schiffer, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board. Bremen’s economics senator Martin Günthner was also on board when the giant container ship tied up at Bremerhaven’s Stromkaje.

The CMA CGM Marco Polo is bigger than the world’s largest cruise ship. With a length of 396 m, a beam of 54 m and a transport capacity of 16,020 TEUs, the vessel comes first in the global ranking of ultra-large container vessels. Ships in the >10,000 TEU category are becoming increasingly standard at EUROGATE’s container terminals. Thanks to extensive investments the terminal facilities are well-equipped with a modern and efficient superstructure, allowing ULCVs to be handled without any difficulties. In Bremerhaven a total of 3,250 containers will be loaded and unloaded by seven container gantries.

“The docking of the CMA CGM Marco Polo once again makes it clear how important it is to improve the nautical conditions,” says Emanuel Schiffer, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board. “Bremerhaven has always been a port of call for the world’s biggest container ships. However, over time these container vessels have become bigger and bigger. The superstructure at our terminal facilities has grown along with them. The infrastructure, i.e. the deepening of the navigation channel, is on the other hand happening much too slowly. We are therefore pleased that despite this the CMA CGM Marco Polo has come to Bremerhaven and hope she will continue to do so. We will welcome her here regularly and hope she always has a hand’s breadth of water under her keel“.

“Given that Bremerhaven is a regular port of call for our previous flagship – the CMA CGM Christoph Colomb – on the FAL1 service, we are now pleased that our new flagship – the CMA CGM Marco Polo – currently the biggest container vessel in the world, is also serving Bremerhaven“, says Reinhard Peschel, Managing Director of CMA CGM (Deutschland) GmbH.

[mappress]

Press Release, December 14, 2012; Image: Eurogate