Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), a subsidiary of billionaire Enrique K. Razon Jr.’s International Container Terminal Services Inc., is marking a significant milestone with the arrival of a super-sized ship at the Port of Melbourne.
In a statement, ICTSI said that, at 350 meters in length, the M/V CMA CGM Pelleas is the largest container vessel to ever dock in Australia. The ship is nearly 43 meters wide and has a carrying capacity of just under 10,000 TEUs.
VICT’s Chief Executive Officer Bruno Porchietto said super-sized vessels like the CMA CGM Pelleas are likely to become more common at the VICT terminal.
“There is a global trend by shipping lines toward the use of larger ships, which are more efficient due to their carrying capacity,” Porchietto noted.
He added that, “we are very proud to welcome this ship as the largest yet to dock in Australia, and we are thankful to our client partners ANL and CMA CGM for their continued confidence in our facility."
“It’s a strong signal of where the future lies for the Port of Melbourne and VICT – by the end of the year, our facility will be capable of docking two of these vessels or even larger simultaneously,” he also said.
Porchietto said the VICT facility located at Webb Dock has significant advantages due to its location over the legacy terminals at Swanson Dock.
“Because our operations sit at the entrance to the Port our facility can easily accommodate these larger vessels that are unable to sail further down into Melbourne’s Yarra River due to length and height restrictions,” he said.
Meanwhile, VICT’s expansion project at the Port of Melbourne is making good progress following the recent arrival of two new quay cranes from China.
The cranes are the largest in Australia and form part of a AU$235 million expansion that will boost VICT’s capacity up to 1.25 million TEUs when it is completed in late 2023.
ICTSI has so far invested more than AU$1 billion in its Melbourne operations, making the company one of the largest non-government infrastructure investors in Australia.