Sunday morning, the Thames Ship Agency welcomed HMM Algeciras, the world’s largest megamax-24 class container ship, on her maiden voyage to the DP World London Gateway.
Preparations began more than six months ago, with the Port of London Authority modelling its arrival on a simulator to ensure it could be carried out safely, explained GAC UK on LinkedIn.
HMM is the new name for the South Korean ship-owner Hyundai Merchant Marine, the ninth-largest container shipping line worldwide. The company has ordered another eleven 24,000-TEU vessels in this class.
At maximum capacity, this ship carries slightly more 20-foot containers than its predecessor MSC Gülsün: 23,964 TEU versus 23,756 TEU. During this maiden voyage, HMM Algeciras has 19,621 TEU on board – itself a record number.
The Korean vessel was completed at Daewoo Shipping & Marine Engineering’s Okpo shipyard on 24 April. It is some 400 metres long and 61 metres wide.
According to ITV News, HMM Algeciras’ journey to the UK began in China and it had also been to South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The vessel left Britain on Monday taking UK goods back to China via Singapore.