Empty containers ahoy!

摘要

Shifting empty containers between the world's trading regions is one of the key issues of the day; it has to be addressed to keep trade flowing. The shipping line Maersk is the latest example of a line that is battling the scarcity. It recently dispatched a vessel to Sidney and Melbourne, just to pick up empty boxes. Thus the Some Maersk, built in 1999 and with a capacity to carry approximately 9,600 teu, took more than 3,750 empty containers on board in Port Botany recently - around 40% of its total capacity. It then loaded another 400 empty units at the Victoria international container terminal (VICT) in the port Melbourne. The Some Maersk measures 347 m, making it the longest ship ever to call at the Australian port. Thereafter the ship reached the Vietnamese port of Vung Tau, near Ho Chi Minh City, on 16 April, with 4,150 empty teu on board; from there it sailed for China.