On Friday, 11 December, the Marie Maersk departed from APMT 2 in Rotterdam Amaliahaven with a record draught of 17.4 metres. For this reason, the Port Authority guided the container vessel to the Eurogeul, a deepened navigation channel in the North Sea with a guaranteed depth of 25 metres.

Sailing through the 57-kilometre-long Eurogeul is compulsory for vessels with a minimum draught of 17.4 metres. The VTS operators of the Port Authority call this type of vessel geulers (channel vessels). It was the first time a container ship departed from the port of Rotterdam as a channel vessel. Normally, the channel has to be used by oil tankers and ore carriers of this draught.

The Marie Maersk is on its way to Tanjung Pelepas, the largest container port of Malaysia. How many containers she is carrying is unknown.