CMA CGM Pelleas became the longest ship ever to call the Port of Melbourne this week when it arrived at Victoria International Container Terminal.

The containership is 350 metres LOA and has a carrying capacity of 9658 TEU. It arrived in Melbourne following its first visit to Port Botany last week.

VICT chief executive officer Bruno Porchietto said the terminal expects visits from long vessels such as CMA CGM Pelleas to become more common.

“There is a global trend by shipping lines toward the use of larger ships, which are more efficient due to their carrying capacity,” Mr Porchietto said.

“We are very proud to welcome this ship as the largest yet to arrive into Melbourne, and we are thankful to our client partners ANL and CMA CGM for the renewed confidence in our facility.

“It’s a signal of where the future lies for VICT, which by the end of the year will be able to dock two of these vessels simultaneously.

“Because our operations sit at the entrance to the port, our facility can easily accommodate these larger vessels that are unable to sail further down into the Yarra River due to length and height restrictions.”

Port of Melbourne CEO Saul Cannon welcomed the arrival of CMA CGM Pelleas as an indicator of the “future fleet” the port anticipates. 

“The arrival of CMA CGM Pelleas is an exciting milestone and is an insight to future port operations,” he said.

“Innovation and investment in strategic infrastructure assets have demonstrated our commitment to sustainability objectives and a vision for the future.”

And CMA CGM managing director Shane Walden said deployment of the CMA CGM Pelleas on the A3C service represented a commitment to the trade between Australia and Asia.

“Our partners in the Port of Melbourne have been extremely supportive to ensure the smooth operations of this vessel. We will continue to work closely with our partners to offer a reliable and sustainable liner service to our customer network.”

CMA CGM Pelleas (IMO 9365788) is a Maltese flagged vessel. It is due to arrive in Brisbane on 27 September.