Port of Durban to receive biggest container ship to enter South Africa

The Port of Durban will welcome the largest container vessel ever to sail into South African waters when the MSC Maeva enters Durban harbour on Friday, 05 November 2010 on its maiden voyage to the country. 
Built in 2005 the vessel’s generous proportions meant it was not able to call at Durban prior to completion of the harbour mouth’s deepening and widening project. It will also take advantage of refurbished berth facilities at the Durban Container Terminal.
At 325 metres long with a beam of 42.8 metres - and a total container capacity of nearly 8,100 TEUs - the MSC Maeva is one of the newer generation Super Post-Panamax vessels. 
It will anchor at berth 108 at Durban Container Terminal: Pier 2 where it will remain in port for three days to load containers of cargo. It will then return to the Far East.
The MSC Maeva will present a challenge for crane operators at DCT: Pier 2, who will for the first time be tasked with manipulating their hefty harbour cranes to load the vessel seven containers high in order to maximise space.  
The ship will be discharging 1,276 containers and loading 4,669 containers. 
Container vessels of up to 15,000 TEU capacity exist but do not include South Africa in their routes.
The maiden voyage of the MSC Maeva is a significant achievement not only for MSC, but for Transnet and the Port of Durban. It represents the port’s capacity to cater for these large vessels and to retain its position as one of the leading ports in Africa.
 

Source: Transportweekly