Melbourne’s VICT welcomes its first new-generation container ship

MELBOURNE - Berthing of the 8,063 TEU-capacity OOCL Seoul at Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) has signalled the city’s growing ability to match the performance of Sydney and Brisbane in accommodating larger-capacity vessels now being introduced into key Australian container trades.

The OOCL Seoul, with an overall length (LOA) of 322.97 m and width (beam) of 42.8 m, is employed in the central China - Australia East Coast service, and is jointly operated with COSCO and ANL.

The new-generation cargo vessels have LOAs ranging from 320–335 m and beams from 42.8 to 45.6 m. They carry up to 8,500 TEU.

Some 3,400 containers were handled during the call to VICT, with crane productivity at around 70 moves an hour.

VICT was planned by Port of Melbourne Corporation as a highly-automated terminal enabling the port to handle the larger carriers.

The new facility was developed by Philippines’-headquartered International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), the parent of VICT. ICTSI invested AUD660 million in VICT, in infrastructure, equipment, systems and personnel training.

Established in 1987, ICTSI now operates in 18 counties and is one of the world’s largest developers, managers and operators of container terminals. It has terminal concessions in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

It says vessels of a similar size and specification to the OOCL Seoul are expected to become an increasingly familiar sight at VICT. www.ictsi.com