MSC Loreto — the newest largest contairship in the world — recently arrived at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges to load and unload containers at the MSC PSA European Terminal (MPET) at the Deurganckdock.

In a statement, the port noted that the ship can carry 24 346 TEU (20-foot containers) and is not only the largest ship ever to call at the port, it is currently the largest container ship in the world — a title it shares with its sister ship, MSC Irina.

The ship started her maiden voyage from Ningbo (China) on April 19 and will depart for Felixstowe (UK) on May 28.

Port of Antwerp-Bruges said the MSC Loreto is 400 metres long, 61 metres wide and has 25 crew members.

The ship transports a wide range of goods from raw materials to finished products, such as machinery, plastics & rubber, electronics, furniture.

"Calls by record ships at our port continue to capture the imagination. So today we are proud to welcome the MSC Loreto. This demonstrates that our port can receive the largest container ships," said Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

He noted that this positions Antwerp well for further increases in scale.

"It is our ambition as a port to continue to grow in a sustainable way, with a firm finger on the pulse of the global economic situation," Vandermeiren added.

Additional container capacity "a priority"

Annick De Ridder, vice mayor of the City of Antwerp and president of the board of directors of Port of Antwerp-Bruges noted that the port infrastructure is ready to receive megaships like MSC Loreto.

"With a record ship comes performing infrastructure. We therefore ensure that the largest ships can continue to be handled at the terminals. Record ships also need sufficient container capacity," she said, adding that additional container capacity Antwerp remains an absolute priority to keep playing at the top level of world ports.

Marc Beerlandt, CEO MSC Belgium said the interest in the arrival of the new record ship the MSC Loreto "confirms that the activities in the port of Antwerp still capture the imagination of the general public."

"This pleases MSC enormously and shows that the choice of Antwerp as a European hub is definitely the right one," he added, noting that the commitment of our MSC people, the productivity of the Antwerp dockers, the support of the industrial fabric inside and outside the port area, the excellent cooperation with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges port authorities "create an excellent support base for further developments of our company."