APM Sets New US Port Operations Record
APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles accommodated and handled three Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) simultaneously between February 22nd and March 7th setting a new record for US port operations.
The trio represented a combined total of 34,465 container moves over nine days, including a two-day period in which all three were alongside, providing a glimpse into the future of US port operations as larger vessels cascade into US trade lanes.
The 13,100 TEU capacity COSCO Harmony, at 367 meters in length and 48 meters wide, operating on COSCO’s South China/US Southwest Coast Express Service (SEA) registered 10,617 container moves.
Two Mediterranean Shipping Company vessels, the 12,991 TEU capacity MSC Flavia, at 365.75 meters long and 48 meters wide, and the 13,119 TEU capacity MSC Renee, 366.45 meters long and 48.2 meters wide, were also alongside at the quay, accounting for 12,402 and 11,446 moves, respectively.
The MSC Renee and MSC Flavia both operate as part of the 2M alliance between Mediterranean Shipping and Maersk Line on the Far East/US West Coast trade lane.
“Our facility handled the first 13,000 TEU vessel to call the port of Los Angeles last summer, and now with three calling at once we have shown that we are more than able to keep pace with the changes in our industry, and the needs of our shipping line customers,” said APM Terminals Pier 400 Managing Director, Steven Trombley.
Throughput at APM Terminals Pier 400 terminal was 2.19 million TEUs in 2014, with the facility ranking 2nd in the JOC productivity study.
In June 2014, Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners approved an APM Terminals proposal to raise the facility’s 14 cranes by 32 feet to 304 feet, and extend the booms by 10 feet to 376 feet accommodate anticipated ULCS traffic. The project is expected to be completed by 2016.
In June of 2014, the 13,000 TEU COSCO Development, which called APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles, became the largest containership to call an American port.
As ULCS’ of up to 19,224 TEU capacity are introduced into the Asia/Europe trade, the large vessels previously deployed in those services are being cascaded into the trans-Pacific Asia/USA trade. At present, there are 265 ULCS of 10,000 TEU capacity or larger in service, with another 137 on order.
2 thoughts on “APM Sets New US Port Operations Record”
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Congratulations to the P400 team.
It is however a record which they themselves should easily beat in the near future. 34,465 moves in 9 days is a terminal quay-wall average flow of 159 moves per hour. We count 8 QC’s in the captioned picture, but there are many more than this at P400. But if 8 QC’s were used, that would equate to a gross crane rate of 20 moves per hour. So there exists a lot of potential to raise the bar even higher in the future.
Congratulations to the P400 team.
It is however a record which they themselves should easily beat in the near future. 34,465 moves in 9 days is a terminal quay-wall average flow of 159 moves per hour. We count 8 QC’s in the captioned picture, but there are many more than this at P400. But if 8 QC’s were used, that would equate to a gross crane rate of 20 moves per hour. So there exists a lot of potential to raise the bar even higher in the future.