The Port of Melbourne and Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) recently welcomed the container vessel Soroe Maersk, the longest vessel to call at the port.

Maersk deployed the Soroe Maersk to Sydney and Melbourne to load empty containers that need to be repositioned back to Asia where there is a shortage.  

In a statement, it noted that the vessel has a total carrying capacity of 9,640 TEUs and a record length of 346.98 meters, 11.28 meters longer than the previous longest vessels to call at the port.

The Soroe Maersk departed on midday Tuesday, 6 April after loading 4,148 TEUs.

Brendan Bourke, CEO of Port of Melbourne, welcomed the record-breaking arrival, noting that through its port development strategy and investment programs, the Port of Melbourne stands ready to accommodate the global trend of growing vessel sizes.

Tim Vancampen, VICT CEO, highlighted the requirement to continue to invest in order to keep up with the shipping line requirements for the larger vessels calling Australia: “We welcome the Soroe Maersk and look forward to continuing to accommodate larger vessels of this size at VICT.”

Henrik Jensen, Managing Director of Maersk Oceania noted that the shipping line “continuously focus on meeting client requirements whilst also driving efficiencies throughout our service network.”

“To that end, the Soroe Maersk port call into Melbourne allows us to test potential future network and infrastructure aspects, and use the one-off vessel call to reposition much-needed empty containers to demand locations in Asia,” he added.