Columbia Welcomes Its Largest Vessel to Date

Buenaventura’s Puerto Aguadulce has begun 2020 operations with the arrival of the 13,892 TEU APL Esplanade, the largest vessel ever to call Columbia.

Coming from Asia, the ultra large container vessel (ULCV) docked at Puerto Aguadulce on January 8 before continuing its journey to other ports in South America.

With a length of 369 meters, equivalent to approximately four professional soccer fields, and a width of 51 meters, this vessel has the largest physical dimensions to call at any Colombian terminal, according to port operator International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI).

“The shipping companies continue to build larger and larger capacity vessels. For Puerto Aguadulce, receiving this type of vessel is an honor and a great responsibility,” Miguel Abisambra, Puerto Aguadulce general manager, commented.

“We work continuously under our vision of being a strategic ally of the Colombian economy. At the end of last year, we received what is now, after APL Esplanade, the second largest capacity container vessel that has docked in the country,” he added.

The 150,200 dwt APL Esplanade sails on the CMA CGM group’s Asia Central South America (ACSA1) service, which links East Asia with Central and South America.

Previously known MOL Quintet, APL Esplanade was built at South Korean shipyard Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in 2014.