The Port of Antwerp Authority has announced that the MSC Daniela has broken the record for the ship with the greatest draught ever on the Scheldt river, with the ultra-large container vessel entering the Port of Antwerp with a draught of no less than 15.25m.
MSC Daniela's appearance means that its sister ship, the MSC Emanuela, held the record for less than a month.
After passing through the Barendrecht lock, the Daniela headed for the MSC home terminal in the Delwaide dock, according to the Port Authority.
In addition, the vessel is the first to follow the new rotation of the MSC Silk loop, with Antwerp now the first European port of call for cargo arriving from the Far East.
'The fact that MSC has chosen Antwerp as the first port of call demonstrates that the port is gaining in importance as the gateway to Europe from the Far East, not least because of the recent deepening of the river Scheldt,' the Port Authority noted.
