Container ship breaks logistics record at Port Botany

Patrick Terminals has welcomed the CMA CGM Estelle into Port Botany, setting a record as the ship carrying the greatest number of containers to ever visit Australia.

A joint service by MSC and CMA CGM on the NEMO Australia Express Service between Europe, the Indian Ocean and Australia, the CMA CGM Estelle has an impressive carrying capacity of 10,926 TEU, compared to the average container vessel visiting Australia carrying around 4,500 TEU.

The 299.9m long vessel was built in 2018 and the TEU capacity of 10,926 eclipses the previous record vessel, CMA CGM Ural, that called at Patrick Terminals in Australia for the first time in June 2020.

The CMA CGM Estelle weighs an impressive 95,256 tonnes with a 14.5 metre draft and a breadth of 48.2m.

“The CMA CGM Estelle is an impressive sight alongside our Patrick Terminals quay line being worked upon by the largest ship-to-shore cranes in Australia,” said Michael Jovicic, CEO of Patrick Terminals.

“Patrick Terminals has invested significantly to accommodate the next generation of larger container vessels and is well equipped to service these ships,” Jovivic said.

NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas welcomed the ship’s arrival, which she said highlighted the infrastructure capabilities of Port Botany.

“Port Botany handles about one third of the nation’s container trade and as the record-breaking Estelle shows, the port’s deep-water shipping channel, premier infrastructure and berth facilities are well established to manage vessels of this size,” she said.

As a key trade logistics gateway for the nation, Port Botany operates 24/7. With 80 per cent of all import containers travelling no further than 40km from the port, Botany is the most efficient location to service NSW container trade needs – keeping the state’s supply chain costs low for all port users – importers and exporters alike.

“An interesting fact is that about 42 per cent of all goods in the average Sydney home arrive via container into Port Botany,” Calfas said.

“Ships like the Estelle deliver all manner of goods on which we rely, from food and beverages to white goods and electronics, as well as building products like paints and flooring,” Calfas said.

Thousands of containers have been offloaded from the CMA CGM Estelle over the following 24 hours, before it departed to Port Botany and head south to Melbourne.

Source: Patrick Terminals media release. Content has been edited for style and length.