Rotterdam hosts world’s largest containership

The world’s largest containership, the 23,964 TEU HMM Algeciras, sailed into the Port of Rotterdam on June 3, making its first call at Europe’s largest port.

The colossal ship, loaded with 19,621 TEU on board – also a record – was quite a sight as it proceeded to Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) to unload containers.

HMM Algeciras has claimed the title of the largest containership from MSC Gulsun which has a 23,756 TEU capacity.

The ship is on its maiden voyage, deployed on Far East Europe 4 (FE4) service, one of the Asia-North Europe trade lanes of THE Alliance.

Its port rotation starts at Qingdao, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Suez Canal, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, London Gateway, then Singapore via Suez Canal.

“We give a warm welcome to HMM Algiceras in the port of Rotterdam. Given its 20 meter depth, Europe’s biggest container port is excellently conditioned to receive these very large vessels. This makes port of Rotterdam well-positioned for upscaling in container shipping,” Allard Castelein, CEO of Rotterdam Port Authority, said.

The ship embarked on a maiden voyage at the end of April, following its naming ceremony at DSME. Since then, HMM has taken delivery of two more 24,000 TEU behemoths of the total of 12, HMM Oslo and HMM Copenhagen.

HMM Oslo is also on its way to Europe, with all its slots full, according to HMM.

All 12 ships will be fitted with scrubbers to meet the international sulphur cap, which entered into force in January this year.

They will also feature an optimised hull design, engines designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, and fitted with smart navigation systems.