Big feat

Recently completed fairway adjustment works at the Port of Hamburg enabled the 400m long the ULCV Ever Ace, with a slot capacity of 23,992 TEU, was able to call at the port successfully.

“It is clear from the arrival of the world’s largest container ship, Ever Ace, that the Port of Hamburg has done its homework,” said Axel Mattern, executive director of Port of Hamburg Marketing. “Especially with the fairway adjustment and the widening of the passing box, the largest container ships can call at the Port of Hamburg.”

Draught improvements

The clearance of the new draughts by the nautical services of Hamburg and the federal government will take place in two stages. Even during the first stage, which is currently in force, container ships will be able to enjoy about 50% of the draught improvements gained from the fairway adjustment. Depending on the size class, the draughts will increase by 0.3m to 0.9m. Final clearance is expected by the end of the year.

In service between Northern Europe and Asia, Evergreen Marine’s Ever Ace arrived at the port on 8 September with the evening‘s high tide. In addition to its 400m length, the vessel has a width of 61.5 m and a maximum draught of 16 m. The mega-carrier can accommodate 28 TEU more than its predecessor, HMM Algeciras.

Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine commissioned the vessel to be built at the South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries for around US$150m. Ever Ace left the shipyard on 28 July bound for Qingdao. Another five ships of this type are to be built at the shipyard.

Already on its maiden voyage, the Ever Ace set a record for the amount of 20-foot standard containers (TEU) transported on its way from Asia to Europe. According to Alphaliner, the vessel transported a total of 21,718 TEU, surpassing the record of the Jacques Saadé by 285 containers.