The MOL Triumph, one of the biggest container-ships in the world, made fast in Hamburg at HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB). The new flagship of Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is the first vessel with a loading capacity of over 20,000 TEU in the Port of Hamburg. Some 10,000 TEU will be loaded or discharged at CTB for the MOL TRIUMPH that is provisionally scheduled to leave the Elbe conurbation..

“It is an amazing moment to have the MOL Triumph here in the Port of Hamburg,” says Jan Holst, Director North Europe for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in Hamburg, on the arrival of the mega-ship. “Our shipping line has been really exerting itself, working towards this moment for the last three years. It makes you feel really proud when it actually happens.”

Larger ships require more staff

Previously, MOL’s biggest container-ships had a capacity of some 14,000 TEU. “So, this is naturally a quantum leap for us in terms of volume, challenging the whole organisation. In Europe we have taken on staff in each port, 13 in Hamburg alone,” Holst adds.

Why MOL decided to build a class of six 20,000-TEU ships, is obvious for Holst. On the one hand competitiveness and economy of scale play a role. On the other, you have to be an attractive alliance partner. “You achieve that in part by deploying comparable ship sizes within the shipping alliance. Then you are able to offer unified liner services.” For the eco-balance ship-size plays an important role too: Through the considerably higher loading capacity, linked to state-of-the-art environment technology, the MOL Triumph shows a reduction in fuel consumption per container of approximately 25 to 30 percent and lower CO2 emissions in comparison with a 14,000-TEU containership.