By JAMES A. LOYOLA
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) reported that its Columbian terminal Puerto Aguadulce has just served the biggest vessel to call on any port in that country.
Puerto Aguadulce is a latest generation container terminal. Its two major shareholders are two of the world's leading port operators: International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) of the Philippines and PSA of Singapore.
Buenaventura Beefed up its reputation as a strategic port city for Colombia and its foreign trade with the call of the large-scale vessel, APL Esplanade with a capacity of 13,892 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs).
After Colombia, its journey continues to other ports in South America.
With a length of 369 meters, equivalent to approximately four professional soccer fields and a width of 51 meters, this vessel has the largest physical dimensions to call at any Colombian terminal.
“The event highlights the importance, capacity and competitiveness of Buenaventura Port, located close to Colombia’s major urban areas such as Bogotá, Medellín and Cali,” said ICTSI.
“The shipping companies continue to build larger and larger capacity vessels. For Puerto Aguadulce, receiving this type of vessel is an honor and a great responsibility,” said Miguel Abisambra, Puerto Aguadulce general manager.
He added that, “We work continuously under our vision of being a strategic ally of the Colombian economy. At the end of last year, we received what is now, after APL Esplanade, the second largest capacity container vessel that has docked in the country. These calls confirm that Puerto Aguadulce is a terminal with global service standards, technology, infrastructure and security.”
APL Esplanade is a service operated by CMA CGM-APL, a French shipping and container transport company.
It is one of the world's leading companies in container transport, operating more than 200 sea routes between 400 ports in 150 countries.