Car carriers rewrite the record books

TERRY HUTSON RECORDS ARE made to be broken. This was a cliché that came to mind last week when one of the lines, MOL, phoned to say they’d established a record for the number of motor vehicles imported into a port on a single ship. The occasion involved the pure car carrier Freedom Ace which called at Durban’s Car Terminal to discharge 3 658 motor units (all Toyotas) and to load 284 for export, making a total of 3 942 vehicles for one ship. This was the largest number of vehicles handled off any one ship in a South African port. The operation took 29 hours, which car terminal people told FTW was six hours ahead of schedule. Not bad going. A day or two later FTW learned of another ship just over the horizon, Eukor’s Morning Calm, for which Diamond Shipping acts as the local agent. Morning Calm was due in Durban on January 23 with no less than 5 176 motor cars for discharge at the port. According to Diamond Shipping this vessel will discharge her record cargo at G berth where Durban Car terminal now operates an additional secure car parking area. The dramatic number of motor units for both import and export reflects the growth pattern of the Southern African motor industry. During 2006 the Durban Car Terminal was expecting to handle over 400 000 units, well in excess of the 340 000 originally anticipated. No wonder that the move to Salisbury Island in Durban Bay, where a much larger car terminal is to be built, is receiving such urgent attention.