08/07/2019 09:56 AM
Port Botany welcomes arrival of two giants
Two of the largest container ships to ever visit Australia have made calls to Port Botany in Sydney — both on the same weekend (7/8 July).
The Maersk Skarstind and the MSC Elma, both 300m long and almost 50m wide, are capable of carrying over 9400 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU container capacity) — around double the size of most container ships visiting Australia.
Port Botany is one of the largest seaports in Australia and specialises in container trade in manufactured products and bulk liquid imports including petroleum and natural gas.
Image: MSC Elma at Port Botany — photo by Brett Patman @lostcollective
The port serves the largest population centre in the country and over 1600 vessels visit the port each year, carrying around 2.6 million containers (TEU).
These new large vessels coming into Port Botany will be a regular site in the coming months. A new combined service between CMA CGM and MSC will commence in September with 12 ships all between 9,000 to 9,500 TEU.
This new service will link the North West Continent and the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and Australia on the southbound leg, and Australia to South East Asia and Europe on the northbound leg.
Image: Maersk Skarstind at Port Botany — photo by Brett Patman @lostcollective
Over 6,000 commercial vessels carrying around 212 million tonnes of cargo pass through the ports of New South Wales each year, representing over $100 billion in trade. These ports are vital on a local, regional and national level; contribute billions to our economy and support thousands of jobs and businesses.
Maersk Skarstind
Length: 300m
Breadth: 48.29m
Gross Tonnage: 93702
Container capacity: 9472 TEU
Year built: 2016
MSC Elma
Length: 299.95m
Breadth: 48.32m
Gross Tonnage: 96816
Container capacity: 9411 TEU
Year built: 2016
Find out more about Port Botany
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