MSC Mina, one of the largest container ships in the world, made its maiden call at Hutchison Ports Thailand in the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand on July 30.

In a statement, MSC said to date, the vessel, which has a capacity of 23,656 TEU and a  is the biggest container ship to call in Thailand.

The ship belongs to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company’s latest and biggest Gülsün-Class of 23,000+ TEU ships that had been delivered and deployed into MSC’s global shipping network in 2019 and 2020. It measures around 400 metres long and 61 metres wide, the ship can transport the equivalent of about 384 million pairs of shoes or 47,312 cars.

“Laem Chabang is an important port for MSC in South-east Asia, and we are delighted to welcome the first-ever call by MSC Mina, one of our biggest, most energy-efficient and technologically advanced ships,” said Peter Blohm, managing director for MSC in Thailand.

Aside from its capacity, the vessel is equipped to carry more than 2,000 refrigerated containers, boosting the trade of essential goods such as food & beverage, pharmaceutical products, perishables and other chilled or frozen items.

Stephen Ashworth, managing director – Thailand & South East Asia for Hutchison Ports noted the “milestone record” saying this is the first time a mega-vessel of over 23,000 TEU has called Thailand.

“This clearly demonstrates our terminal efficiency as well as capabilities in servicing such mega vessels and we look forward to welcoming further vessels of similar size in the future,” Ashworth said.

MSC commitment in Thailand

MSC noted its continued commitment to the Thailand market having done business in Thailand since 2001 and has continued to invest and grow its presence in the local market over the years.

Last November, it opened a new, expanded office in Laem Chabang to provide a wider range of commercial services to local shippers.

MSC Mina is currently deployed on MSC’s weekly Lion-Jaguar pendulum service, facilitating imports from Europe and shipments to intra-Asia and the West Coast of the United States. The service started calling in Thailand in April 2020.

Besides adding a direct call in Laem Chabang on the Lion-Jaguar service this year, MSC has also just launched a new Seahorse service in July, which provides direct connections and comprehensive port coverage of eight countries in Asia, including Thailand.

MSC Mina will be leaving HPT on 31 July and its next port of call is Nansha.

The ship started its voyage in mid-May in Ningbo Port, China. It has sailed from Asia to ports in Europe and has just returned to Asia.

The port rotation of the Lion-Jaguar service is Busan – Ningbo – Shanghai – Yantian – Tanjung Pelepas – Sines – Antwerp – Le Havre – Felixstowe – Algeciras – Singapore – Laem Chabang – Nansha – Yantian – Shanghai – Long Beach – Oakland.