MSC Emanuela to set keeldepth record upriver to the Port of Antwerp

The port of Antwerp is getting ready for a new record. On Sunday 3 April the ultra-large container carrier MSC Emanuela will enter the port with a draught of 15 metres, a depth never before attained by any container ship on the Scheldt. The new keelroom has been made possible by the third round of dredging in the Western Scheldt (the lower Scheldt estuary) that was completed last year, permitting tide-independent navigation with draughts of up to 13.10 metres. With due allowance for the tide, vessels with even greater draught can sail up the Scheldt.

The arrival of the Emanuela will serve as an official test voyage for which permission has been granted by the Permanent Commission for Supervision of Scheldt Navigation. If the test is successful – which there is every reason to expect – then the navigation regulations will be amended accordingly. “We are very satisfied that full advantage can be taken of the possibilities opened up by the third round of Scheldt dredging work so soon after it has been completed. We are also grateful for the efforts of all the parties that have contributed to this success,” declared Marc Van Peel, alderman for the port and chairman of Antwerp Port Authority.

The test is also in preparation for the new MSC sailing schedule, with container carriers calling directly at Antwerp from the Far East as of the end of April. This too will be a “first” for the port. “Thanks to among others MSC, which decided already in April 2009 to send 14,000 TEU container carriers to Antwerp, all doubts about maximum sea access for our port have now been dispelled,” Marc Van Peel concluded.