Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Westports handles its largest container ship
Kuala Lumpur: The CMA CGM Andromeda has set a new record for the largest container ship to ever be handled at Westports, located in Port Klang, writes news website Bernama.
The 11,400teu container ship arrived last Thursday as part of an inaugural deployment in the French Asia Line (FAL) Westbound service between Asia and Europe, CMA CGM and Westports said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The CMA CGM Andromeda is 131,000 gross tonnes and 363 metres in length. It is the world's first container ship to be equipped with the state-of-the-art 'Fast Oil Recovery System' designed to prevent marine pollution.
The statement said CMA CGM has made Westports its transshipment hub for South East Asia, with throughput expected to reach about 2m teu this year.
"The arrival of the CMA CGM Andromeda is not only a commitment by the French Liner to Westports, but also an expression of confidence in the terminal's ability to perform on this mega size vessel," the companies said.
CMA CGM Malaysia said the arrival of the CMA CGM Andromeda showed the group's commitment to strengthening its services and volume at Westports.
Currently, most of the large mainline container ships at Westports stand in the 8,000 to 10,000teu range. Such vessels have a length of 335 to 350 metres, while the new breed of CMA CGM vessels of 11,300 to 14,000teu will measure about 365 metres in length, the statement said. [16/06/09]
