11/03/15
MSC Oscar Calls Rotterdam
The 19,224 TEU capacity MSC Oscar, launched in January and the latest world record-holder for largest container ship, called APM Terminals Rotterdam on March 4th as part of its maiden voyage to Europe. The MSC Oscar operates as part of Mediterranean Shipping’s Albatross Asia/North Europe service, linking Korea, China and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia with Algeciras, Rotterdam, Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven, and returning by way of Felixstowe, Tanger-Med, Morocco, and Algeciras.
The MSC Oscar is the first of six of the 19,224 TEU capacity Olympic series vessels to have entered the global container ship fleet. The Olympic series container ships are 395.4 meters (1,297 feet) long and 59 meters (194 feet) wide, and 73 meters (240 feet) tall, with a draft of 16 meters (52.5 feet), and a 900 TEU reefer container capacity. The second Olympic series vessel, the MSC Oliver, is scheduled to enter into service in April, with the four remaining ships of this class to be delivered by November of this year.
Mediterranean Shipping, one of 60 lines served by the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, currently operates a fleet of 504 vessels, representing a total capacity of 2.56 million TEUs. Mediterranean Shipping has announced plans to operate 20 Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) of over 19,000 TEU capacity in its global services.