Its shipping container volume is recorded as the highest per vessel ever handled in the country
MSC Auriga, a Portugal-flagged cargo vessel with the largest shipping container volume to ever call a Vietnamese port, has docked at SP-SSA International Terminal (SSIT), located on the Thi Vai River in Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province.
SSIT safely received MSC Auriga on Monday afternoon.
The container ship, built in 2020 with the overall length of 366 meters and width of 51 meters, is operating as a direct container service belonging to the Switzerland-based MSC shipping line.
The total volume of cargo from the MSC Auriga handled at SSIT tops 11,000 container boxes, equivalent to over 15,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), which is recorded as the highest container volume per vessel ever handled in Vietnam.
Of the 15,000 TEUs, over 12,000 will be unloaded at SSIT, while more than 3,000 will be loaded onto the vessel for export to the United States.
Portugal-flagged cargo vessel MSC Auriga arrives at SP-SSA International Terminal (SSIT) in Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province, Vietnam, March 22, 2021. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
Notably, the majority of the 12,000 TEUs to be unloaded are empty containers, which have become scarce in the Vietnamese maritime market recently.
According to the plan, MSC Auriga will complete unloading and loading the 15,000 TEUs by Wednesday.
SSIT is a deep-sea terminal located in the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port area in Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province.
It is a joint venture established in 2006 by the U.S.-based SSA Marine and the two Vietnamese companies, Vinalines and Saigon Port.