THE world’s largest roll-on roll off (RORO) vessel, MV Salome, carried a consignment of 644 fully-built units, some of which were imports and some exports, when she docked for a busy eight-hour turnaround at the Port of Durban’s car terminal on April 29.
Built for heavy abnormal cargo with a weight of 75 000 tons when fully laden, the RORO vessel arrived in Durban after sailing from Europe 18 days prior. According to general manager at Wallenius Wilhemsen Ocean (WW Ocean), Niran Sheoprosad, “This is the first time a vessel of this size is coming to South Africa as it usually operates between Europe, the United States and Australia – it’s something we should be proud of, to have a world title holder on our shores.”
“The 265m long MV Salome is big, flexible and purpose-built to carry super heavy loads with a stern ramp capacity of 505 tons and main deck height of 7.1m. As one of our Mark V vessels, she is uniquely designed to have more roro decks than car decks and the ability to drive up to the weather deck to load cargo. Even with heavy loads, the vessel still manages to keep a light draught to call most ports.”
Integrated planning between WW Ocean, Transnet and other logistical stakeholders contributed to the efficiency of the call which saw yard preparation for import operations completed in advance and export pre-assembling done above board. All preparations were done 24 hours prior to the vessel’s arrival.
