THE PORT AUTONOME DE POINTE-NOIRE WELCOMES THE “MAERSK EDIRNE”, A GIANT OF THE SEA WITH A TRANSPORT CAPACITY OF 13676 TEU
MAERSK EDIRNE is the name of this large commercial vessel, which docked at the Port Autonome de Pointe-Noire (PAPN) on the morning of 1 February 2024. She was welcomed at quay G4 of the container terminal at a ceremony during which the entire port community celebrated the event under the leadership of Chardesse NGANGOUE, Managing Director of MAERSK-CONGO, in the presence of Séraphin BALHAT and Anthony SAMZUN, respectively Managing Director of PAPN and CONGO TERMINAL.
The arrival was part of the launch of a new shipping service operated by the Danish group MAERSK, called FAR WEST AFRICA (FW3 ), a weekly service that will now link the Port of Pointe-Noire directly to Asian ports.
The Singapore-flagged MAERSK EDIRNE is one of the largest ships built in 2012, measuring 366 metres long and 48.20 metres wide, with a cargo capacity of 1,3676 TEUs and 800 electrical sockets for reefer containers. The berthing of this giant of the seas is an illustration of the efforts made by the management of the Port Autonome de Pointe-Noire to modernise its infrastructure, which has enabled it to increase its container handling capacity.
The major investments made in recent years at the Port of Pointe-Noire and the many advantages the port has to offer, including a deeper draught and ultra-modern infrastructures capable of receiving and handling ships in real time, make it possible to charter such ships to Pointe-Noire.
For the port of Pointe-Noire, the mooring of this type of behemoth represents an important step forward in the competition between the ports of West and Central Africa in the transhipment market.
In the same vein, on 27 February 2023, the Port Autonome de Pointe-Noire welcomed the MSC-VIRGO, a 366-metre long, 51-metre wide vessel carrying 15,000 TEUs.
By Antoine Dustell Mbama, Correspondent for Maritimafrica in the Republic of Congo
