Port Of Tanjung Pelepas Welcomes World’s Latest And Largest Container Vessel – MSC Gulsun And Breaks World Record For Vessel Utilisation

Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), a member of MMC Group becomes the first port in Southeast Asia to welcome Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) latest and largest container vessel as part of its maiden voyage in the South East Asia region.

Another major milestone was also transpired from the historic calling of MSC Gulsun when PTP became the first port in the world to hit back to back record for highest utilisation of a container vessel when the vessel left the port with the record load of 19,574 twenty-foot-equivalents (TEUs), surpassing previous record load of 19,284 TEUs achieved by Maersk Monaco set by PTP in June this year.

With 23,756 TEUs capacity, the 400m-long containership is 61.5m wide. MSC Gulsun is on its maiden voyage for the Asia – Europe (SILK/ NEU2) service loop of the 2M alliance network. The vessel, which was previously berthed at Yantian, China is scheduled to make the next port of call at Port of Algeciras, Spain.

Dato’ Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, Chairman of PTP and MMC Group Managing Director, in his statement remarked that the berthing of MSC Gulsun at PTP reflects strong assurance by vessel operators towards PTP’s ability and commitment in serving the needs of its customers.

“As Malaysia’s leading ports and logistics operator, we take pride in our ability to anticipate and understand the needs of our customers as well as our agility to adapt to the changes of the industries that we operate in, in order for us to stay ahead.”

“Moving forward, we will further strengthen our foundation and continue to optimise our cost for greater operational efficiency. We remain focused on our deliverables and committed to returning more value for our stakeholders.” added him.

Marco Neelsen, Chief Executive Officer of PTP said the port is proud to host the MSC Gulsun as not many ports in the world can handle such mega vessels.

“PTP has the capacity and capability to accommodate mega size vessels because it is fitted out with the right facilities and equipment. The port is designed for the latest generation of container vessels to handle huge volumes.”

“Strategic investment in our equipment and facilities is continuing progressively. Our equipment upgrading and expansion program will ensure that PTP can keep up with the rapid changes of port and shipping industry and subsequently meet the growing demand of our customers.” added him.

MSC Gulsun is the first batch of six ultra large container vessel ordered by MSC in 2017. The vessel is fitted with the latest smart and eco-friendly technology focusing on low-carbon, energy and operational efficient state-of-the-art system.
Source: Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP)