The Durban Car Terminal (DCT) completed work on the world's largest roll-on-roll-off (ro-ro) vessel, the MV Salome, on her maiden voyage to Africa at the weekend.
The vessel, carrying 644 fully built units comprising both imports and exports, arrived in Durban after sailing from Europe 18 days ago.
She is built for heavy abnormal cargo with a weight of 75 000 tonnes when fully laden.
"This is the first time a vessel of this size is coming to South Africa as it usually operates between Europe, the United States, and Australia – it’s something we should be proud of as we have a world title holder on our shores,” the general manager at Wallenius Wilhemsen Ocean (WW Ocean), Niran Sheoprosad said.
"MV Salome is one of four sister vessels which are our Mark V series.
“She is big, flexible, and purpose-built to carry super-heavy loads with a stern ramp capacity of 505 tons and a main deck height of 7.1 meters.
“With a length of 265m, seeing our Mark V vessel against a standard car carrier makes you truly appreciate her size," he said.
Mark V vessels are designed to have more ro-ro decks than car decks and the ability to drive up to the weather deck to load cargo.
"Even with heavy loads, she still manages to keep a light draught to call most ports," he added.
Integrated planning between WW Ocean, Transnet, and other logistical stakeholders contributed to the preparations done 24 hours before the vessel’s arrival.
She has now set sail for Australia after a planned eight hours of loading and offloading units.
DCT last month celebrated a milestone, recording more than 600 000 fully built units handled in a single financial year despite only having capacity for 520 000 units.
