On July 25th the largest vessel to ever call the Port of Buenos Aires, the 332 meter-long Hamburg Süd Cap San Nicholas, discharged approximately 800 containers at the APM Terminals Terminal 4 facility.
The 9,700 TEU capacity vessel is equipped with 2,100 reefer plugs, making these the largest reefer capacity ships in the global fleet.
“We are very pleased with the success of this vessel call, which is a major milestone for South American port operations” said APM Terminals Latin American Head Joe N. Nielsen.
The Cap San Nicholas is the first of six of the Cap San class vessels which will be introduced into Hamburg Süd’s Asia/South Africa/East Coast South American route, with its sister vessel, the Cap San Marco, due to arrive in mid-August. Two more Cap San class vessels are scheduled for delivery this year, with the final two set to enter the fleet in January 2014.
The Port of Buenos Aires is the second-busiest container port in South America, after the Brazilian Port of Santos. Terminal 4 was the first APM Terminals facility located in the southern hemisphere, when privatized in 2000. It is currently undergoing an expansion and upgrade, including the delivery of a new mobile harbor cranes and four Rubber Tire Gantry (RTGs) cranes in 2012, as part of approximately $20 million in investment over the past two years. Throughput at Terminal 4 in 2012 was 298,000 TEUs, a gain of 7% over 2011.
“The future of South American shipping has arrived in Buenos Aires, and we are ready” added Mr. Nielsen.
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Press Release, August 1, 2013