The 399 meter long, 60 meter wide, 195,000 tonnes Triple-E class vessel – equivalent in length to almost four football pitches – and capable of carrying more than 18,300 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) is one of the largest container vessels in the world, operating on Maersk’s new East-West Network.

It was drawn alongside DP World London Gateway Port, adjacent to Europe’s largest logistics park, at 7.30am on Thursday 26th February, with the help of the Port of London Authority’s pilots.

It comes just weeks after the Edith Maersk called at DP World London Gateway, which at 366 meters, had held the previous record for the largest ship to sail up the River Thames.

With quay cranes among the tallest in the world, coupled with cutting-edge, automated technology, DP World London Gateway enables vessels of this size and bigger to berth closer to two thirds of the UK market, removing unnecessary supply chain costs.

The Munkebo Maersk’s call also comes just two weeks after DP World announced that it is moving forward with plans for a new 400 meter third berth at London Gateway, scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2016.

Chief Executive of DP World London Gateway, Simon Moore, said: “This is yet another record and landmark moment for DP World London Gateway.

“By welcoming the Munkebo Maersk we have demonstrated again that we are more than capable of handling the world’s biggest container ships, in this case operating on the Asia-Europe routes.

“But ships are only going to get bigger and DP World London Gateway has been built to future proof its operational capacity, delivering efficiency that simply can’t be achieved elsewhere.

“Our weather resilient quay cranes, which are the biggest in the world and able to operate in winds that bring other UK ports to a standstill, can reach across 25 rows of containers and have a superior lift height – both wider and higher than any ship currently in service.”

The new Port General Manager of DP World London Gateway, Cameron Thorpe, said: “DP World London Gateway’s market-centric port hub, in an unrivalled location and with neighbouring logistics park, is built to handle the biggest ships and cut waste out of the supply chain. That is what we are doing now and will continue to do in the future.”

Managing Director of Maersk Line UK and Ireland, Brian Godsafe, said: “We’re using DP World London Gateway to help ensure the right container equipment is available for our customers in the locations they want it. In this instance, that means out in the Far East where they can be used to transport goods across our East-West Network.

“We are delighted that DP World London Gateway has been able to support us in serving our customers, and are pleased to help them break the record of the largest vessel on the Thames to date.”

Chief Executive of the Port of London Authority, Robin Mortimer, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with DP World London Gateway on another Thames first. Welcoming ships of this size is becoming business as usual for our pilots, harbour masters and port control teams, who oversaw the safe arrival of Munkebo Maersk.”

Caplan will be responsible for exploring, developing and implementing innovative initiatives that support a high performance organisation. He will work to ensure the port’s metrics are aligned with strategies, that programs support a high performance organisation, and that the LEAN philosophy is incorporated into all aspects of the port’s business processes.

“He brings lengthy and broad experience in managing organizational change and developing strategies that improve operational efficiencies,” said Fick. “Throughout his career Dave provided leadership and direction to high performance teams, while improving quality and increasing productivity, and managing to achieve profitable growth.”

Most recently, Caplan was a senior vice president for AGCO Corporation, a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of agricultural solutions. Prior to AGCO, he held various management positions at PACCAR Inc. He has a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, is trained in LEAN and is a Six Sigma Black Belt.

In addition to these strategic functions, Caplan also will provide leadership and direction to the Central Procurement Office. He will officially join the port on April 6, 2015

Founded by the Sola Matas family in 2006, SC Line began operating at Port Everglades, FL, in 2012, servicing OEMs and the NVOCC community at large by transporting self-propelled new & used vehicles, trucks, heavy equipment as well as project static cargo on mafi roll trailers from South Florida to Latin America and the Caribbean.

“SC Line has a proven track record that includes reliable service and professionalism,” said Port Everglades Deputy Director Glenn Wiltshire. “We appreciate their business and look forward to continued success with the Caroline Russ.”

The 10,488-gross-ton RoRo ship sails every other Friday from Port Everglades beginning February 14. The ship has capacity for 190 trucks, 470 cars and 120 20-foot containers (TEUs) on chassis.

Fast Terminal, the land based supply chain integrated services business unit of the SC Group, operates at Port Everglades as the cargo handler and terminal operator for SC Line. Fast Terminal features a specialized RoRo terminal with several value added services for the port´s trade community such as VPC, EPC, FTZ and transit storage with a capacity of 1,100 bays. The latter earmarked and tailor-made with the OEM auto, truck and heavy equipment industry in mind. Thanks to its ocean liners weekly service and rail connectivity through the FEC, CSX, BNSF, NS, the terminal serves as an ideal OEM inventory transshipment & processing point of service for the SE United States, Caribbean, Central & Northern part of South America´s markets.

Christensen, who most recently was Deputy Executive Director at the Port of Los Angeles, was appointed Port of Long Beach’s Senior Executive for Supply Chain Optimization, reporting directly to Chief Executive Jon Slangerup. Farren, who was General Manager for Hapag-Lloyd America, will be Long Beach’s Director of Tenant Services and Operations, a new position created to emphasize the importance of relations with Port tenants.

Christensen is a transportation professional with more than 40 years of experience in both public- and private-sector planning, goods movement, operations, governmental affairs, and environmental, design, construction and project management. In Long Beach, Christensen will be responsible for working collaboratively with industry stakeholders to find new ways to increase communication and cooperation among the links of the supply chain. At the Los Angeles port, he had been the No. 2-ranked executive since 2006. Previously, he was Vice President for the Parsons Transportation Group in Irvine, and before that he was Vice President and Managing Principal for Nolte and Associates in Walnut Creek. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Arizona State University and a certificate in Executive Education from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is also a registered professional engineer in 10 states and an elected member of the Redondo Beach Board of Education. Christensen starts Monday, March 2.

Farren has more than 20 years of experience in managing marine terminals. At Hapag-Lloyd, he was General Manager for Southern California Operations. Previously, Farren has worked for shipping companies Maersk, Sea-Land and APL. He is a graduate of Baylor University in Texas, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Farren will start in March and will report to Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Managing Director of Commercial Operations/Chief Commercial Officer.

The Tenant Services and Operations Division is part of the Commercial Operations Bureau for the Harbor Department.

“I am extremely pleased to have Michael Christensen and Glenn Farren joining our Long Beach executive team. Both Mike and Glenn bring extensive port operations and supply chain expertise to their respective assignments, along with a wealth of industry knowledge and key contacts,” said Jon Slangerup, Port Chief Executive. “Mike and Glenn will play instrumental roles in building the relationships, systems and processes needed to deliver world-class operating performance as measured in the velocity, efficiency and reliability of import and export goods that move through the Port of Long Beach.”