MSC Oscar Calls at Port of Wilhelmshaven on New East-West Trade Route
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company’s largest container ship ever built, the MSC Oscar, makes her maiden call at Port of Wilhelmshaven today.
Since its inauguration in January at Daewoo’s Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering (DSME) Shipyard in South Korea, record-breaking MSC Oscar represents the first in its class and will be followed by additional vessels in the same class during 2015-2016.
In true MSC family tradition the vessel was named after Oscar, the son of Diego Aponte, MSC’s President and CEO. The 45,300 ton steel MSC Oscar, which cost US$140 mio to build, is 395 metres long, 59 metres wide with a draught of 16 metres.
The super-size MSC Oscar is equivalent to the size of four combined football fields and is now servicing the Albatross string on the new East-West trade routes between Asia and Europe.
“MSC Oscar is a truly amazing ship” enthuses Dittmar Vösterling, Managing Director of MSC Germany.
“Today we are proud that she is already servicing customers on our new East West trade route. MSC has everything in place today to offer an improved quality of service to our customers; more weekly sailings, more direct ports, market-leading reliability and strong partnerships with our Terminal partners. Together with our EUROGATE partners I am confident that we will continue to raise the bar on quality shipping services for customers in Europe in future,” Dittmar added.
"We are delighted to welcome the MSC OSCAR at Germany's only deep-water port on a regular basis from now on," says Emanuel Schiffer, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board.
"The world's largest container vessel at the container terminal with the greatest water depth - this is a positive signal for the future. The possibility to be able to reach the port at all times independently of the tides is ideal for ultra-large container ships and provides Wilhelmshaven with a unique selling proposition," Emanuel said.
MSC Oscar is not only the largest container vessel on the seas today, but its innovative engine design contributes to a healthier supply chain for our shipping customers the world over. As a responsible shipping line MSC designs its vessels with the environment top of mind.
MSC Oscar is specially equipped with a modern, low fuel consumption diesel engine. In terms of structural design, and also for greater operating efficiencies, MSC Oscar benefits from a double hull structure for additional strength and resistance for heavy cargo loads in all weather conditions.
