The largest container carriers in the world can now navigate to and from Antwerp without problem.
This has been confirmed by the Permanent Commission for Supervision of Scheldt Navigation after an evaluation of trips up and down river by Maersk E-class vessels earlier this year. The calls, made as a series of trials, all went perfectly.
The Maersk E-class ships are the largest container carriers in the world, with an LOA of 398 metres, a beam of 56 metres and a capacity of 15,500 TEU. The first in the series to call at Antwerp was the Edith Maersk on 13 January. The Danish shipping company later sent three of its sister ships to Antwerp.
The arrival of the Maersk vessels proves that the port of Antwerp is perfectly accessible to even the very largest container carriers in the world, and the biggest shipping companies confirm this by sending a growing number of ships. The number of calls by ULCCs (ultra-large container carriers) has taken off since the deepening of the Scheldt was completed.
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Dredging Today Staff, April 4, 2012