MSC Gulsun Sets New Container Loading Record

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas has broken the record for vessel utilization again. On July 28, the container ship MSC Gulsun departed Tanjung Pelepas with 19,574 TEU of boxes on board. 

The Gulsun has a nameplate capacity of 23,756 TEU, making her the largest boxship in the world. She can accommodate an additional feeder's worth of cargo more than the previous titleholder, the 21,413 TEU OOCL Hong Kong. (Real-world capacities are lower due to stowage limitations.) 

The new loading milestone means that Tanjung Pelepas has broken the record three times in a row, and it has become the first port in the world to set back-to-back records for container vessel utilizations. In June, the Monaco Maersk departed with a record load of 19,284 TEUs, surpassing a record of 19,190 TEUs set by the MOL Tribune in February - both at Tanjung Pelepas. 

Tanjung Pelepas is a key transshipment hub on the Strait of Malacca, and it has the capacity to handle up to 12.5 million TEU per year. It is a direct competitor with the port of Singapore, which is located just on the other side of the Strait of Johor, and is jointly owned by APM Terminals and Malaysia's MMC Corporation. Given its location on the busy westbound Asia-Europe runs, it is ideally placed to set records for cargo volume. 

"Our hubs are part of the journey and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas is one of the those terminals where productivity is currently high and, more importantly, reliable over the long term," said James Wroe, Maersk Asia Pacific Head of Liner Operations, in a statement earlier this year.