World’s largest container ship sets sail from China

MSC Gulsun, the world’s largest container vessel by carrying capacity, set sail from north China’s port city of Tianjin on Monday, heading for northwestern Europe.
Jonathan Zhu, Managing Director of Greater China for the MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, said that the ship had a maximum load capacity of 224,986.4 tonnes.
According to Jonathan, MSC Gulsun is capable of transporting 23,756 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
The vessel, 399.9 meters long and 61.5 meters wide, is scheduled to arrive in northwestern Europe after visiting various ports including Qingdao, Shanghai, Algeciras, Gdansk, Kaliningrad and Rotterdam.
Yu Lei, General Manager of China Ocean Shipping Agency Tianjin Co. Ltd, said that the cargo during the maiden voyage would include steel, furniture, and chemicals.
The ship chose to start its maiden voyage at Tianjin Port, as it is an important gateway port of northern China that boasts broad waterways and good berthing condition.
Boasting of trade links with more than 180 countries and regions, the port now plays an important role in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
Its container throughput reached 8.33 million tonnes in the first half of this year, a year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent, higher than the average growth of Chinese ports.
The ship was built by Samsung Heavy Industries, the shipbuilding affiliate of Samsung Group of the Republic of Korea.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organisations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.