On Wednesday, 8 September 2021, the Megamax container ship Ever Ace called at 19 h at the Port of Hamburg for the first time with the evening‘s high tide.

With a slot capacity of 23,992 TEU, the Ever Ace is currently the largest container ship in the world. With a length of 400 m, a width of 61.5 m and a maximum draught of 16 m, the mega-carrier can accommodate 28 TEU more than its predecessor “HMM Algeciras”.

Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine commissioned the vessel to be built at the South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries for around 150 million USD. Ever Ace left the shipyard on 28 July bound for Qingdao. Another five ships of this type are to be built at the shipyard.

Ever Ace benefits from fairway adjustment
„It is clear from the arrival of the world’s largest container ship, Ever Ace, that the Port of Hamburg has done its homework. Especially with the fairway adjustment and the widening of the passing box, the largest container ships can call at the Port of Hamburg. In this way, the Port of Hamburg remains an attractive hub in Europe“, says Axel Mattern, Executive Director of Port of Hamburg Marketing.

The clearance of the new draughts by the nautical services of Hamburg and the federal government will take place in two stages. Even during the first stage, which is currently in force, container ships will be able to enjoy about 50 percent of the draught improvements gained from the fairway adjustment. Depending on the size class, the draughts will increase by 0.3 metres to 0.9 metres. Final clearance is expected by the end of the year.

Regular guest at Hamburg port
Ever Ace is in service between Northern Europe and Asia. The container ship operates on the Ocean-Alliance’s NEU6 route. At Evergreen, the route is known as the China-Europe-Mediterranean Service (CEM). The rotation includes calls at Hamburg, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Colombo, Tanjung Pelepas, Kaohsiung, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Taipei, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Rotterdam, Felixstowe and Hamburg.

Already on its maiden voyage, the Ever Ace set a record for the amount of 20-foot standard containers (TEU) transported on its way from Asia to Europe. According to information from the industry service Alphaliner, the vessel transported a total of 21,718 TEU. The Ever Ace thus surpassed the old mark of the Jacques Saadé by 285 containers.