DP World’s flagship port, the Jebel Ali Port, recently welcomed “Grete MAERSK”, one of the biggest ships ever handled by the port in its 30 year history. Representatives of DP World and MAERSK shipping line held a ceremony aboard the ship to celebrate its maiden voyage to Jebel Ali Port.
“Grete Maersk”, 367 meters in length is the longest ship to arrive at the Jebel Ali Port. The ship, with a width of 43 meters and draft of 15 meters, has a capacity of approximately 8200 TEUs (20 foot equivalent unit) and a Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) of approximately 98 thousand tons. The ship berthed at quay 4 at Jebel Ali Port and was handled by four of the port’s largest tandem lift gantries, the biggest of their kind in the world.
Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of DP World’s UAE Region said on the occasion: “We, at DP World - UAE Region are proud to host “Grete MAERSK”. This occasion fortifies our solid, long-standing relationship with “MAERSK Line” and also affirms the position of Jebel Ali Port as a regional hub. With its 17 meters draft capacity, Jebel Ali Port is poised to cater to the next generation of mega ships that exceed 13,000 TEUs.”
Henrik Petersen, Senior General Manager, Operations Execution at MAERSK Line commented: “We would like to thank DP World for its continuous cooperation and support to MAERSK. The maiden voyage of “Grete MAERSK” to Jebel Ali Port re-iterates the magnitude and importance of the port as one of the biggest and most vital facilitators of import and export in the UAE and the region as a whole.”
Jebel Ali Port has recently undergone a major expansion which has led to the construction of a new container terminal (Terminal 2) that will add more than 5 million TEUs to the overall capacity of the port by February 2009, raising the total capacity of Jebel Ali Port to 14 million TEUs.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
