The 20,776 TEU CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery has become the largest container ship ever to call at the Port of Hamburg.

According to the Port of Hamburg, the megaship discharged approximately 7,000 TEUs and loaded 4,000 TEUs during the maiden call at the HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai.

The Burchardkai terminal has two berths that are capable of handling megaships, and 13 gantry cranes that can extend over a width of 24 boxes. Up to nine of these cranes were used simultaneously for the CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery, over seven eight-hour shifts.

“Growth in container ship size has rapidly picked up speed in recent years,” said Andreas Brummermann, deputy port captain of the Port of Hamburg. “However, the Port of Hamburg is very well prepared for these VLCVs.”

CMA CGM is one of the port’s top customers, serving Hamburg with 10 liner services using its own ships and a further 11 through slot booking agreements. The French shipping line accounted for over 930 calls at the Port of Hamburg in 2017.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome our new flagship here in Hamburg for the first time,” said Peter Wolf, CEO of CMA CGM Germany. “She will play a key part in regular services between Asia and Northern Europe. That our largest vessels for decades are calling the Port of Hamburg demonstrates, not only our belief in the port, but also our efforts to achieve continuous growth on the German market. In recent years, CMA CGM has become one of world merchant shipping’s top groups. We aim to consolidate that position.”

The number of vessels with a capacity of over 18,000 TEUs has tripled since the first calls in 2015. In 2017, the port recorded 102 calls by vessels in the 18,000-20,000+ TEU segment, a year-on-year increase of over 52%.

“By investing in state-of-the-art gantry cranes and storage technology, we prepared ourselves at an early stage for this growth in ship size,” said Jens Hansen, member of the executive board and chief operating officer of HHLA. “But we are not only making progress on the quayside. At the same time, we have implemented measures to deal with peak loads of incoming/departing containers caused by the arrival of VLCVs reliably and securely. In November 2017, for instance, a slot-booking procedure for trucks was introduced that has already successfully overcome numerous peak situations and is increasingly gaining acceptance from all those involved. In addition, the successful expansion of the Altenwerder rail terminal and the one planned for this year at the Burchardkai rail terminal will consolidate our integration with European hinterland rail services.”

As part of its digitalization project, the port is focusing on technical innovation, automated working processes and digital networking to ensure momentum in structuring transport and logistics chains.

“That CMA CGM Group should send its flagship to Hamburg is further proof of our ability to handle these mega-ships and an endorsement from the shipowner of this port,” said Ingo Egloff, joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. “It underlines its trust in the Port of Hamburg’s ability deliver the goods. All this is vital, since as an exporting nation we depend on the Port of Hamburg’s ability to perform.”