The MSC vessel exchanged some 2,000 containers on August 31 at CICT, which currently has a terminal capacity of 260,000 TEU over two berths offering 387 metres of quay, four post-panamax cranes and a 10-metre draft.
By the end of this year it is planned to have 594 metres of berthing length and a capacity of 520,000 TEU; and it has the capability to expand that to 1.2 million TEU by the investment in more landside equipment, according to London`s Containerisation International.
Patrick Avice, the general director of CICT, a joint-venture company between SSA Holdings International and the Vinalines majority held Cai Lan Port Investment, said: "We are very happy to receive the first vessel call from the Mediterranean Shipping line to mark the opening of CICT. Starting August 1, CICT is able to accommodate 3,000- to 4,000-TEU vessels and other types of ships up to 50,000-dwt fully-loaded."
Construction of CICT began in December 2010 as an alternative to the draft-restricted Hai Phong Port and is the nearest container terminal to the Great Mekong sub-region which incorporates the Southwest China markets and a consumer base of more than 400 million people.
After departing CICT, MSC`s Tongking service continues on to Quy Nhon, Central Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong and then Shantou in China.