OOCL Brazil exchange sets new Botany benchmark

THE A3 consortium Central China loop vessel OOCL Brazil has eclipsed the previous Port Botany container exchange record to establish a new high point for NSW Ports and stevedore DP World.

The 8,540 TEU vessel arrived at the DPW terminal on 11 May and exchanged an ‘incredible’ 10,746 TEU, well-and-truly topping the previous largest exchange by another OOCL vessel, the chartered Seamax Stanford, of 9,487 TEU in 2020.

NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas said the OOCL Brazil benchmark demonstrated the capability of Port Botany to accommodate these larger exchanges: “We congratulate OOCL and DP World on this latest achievement.

“This record volume highlights the critical role Port Botany plays in keeping NSW’s supply chains moving. About 20% of the imported containers left the DP World terminal by rail, demonstrating the continued growth of imports being moved by rail at Port Botany,” Ms Calfas said.

Nicolaj Noes, executive vice president of DP World Oceania said the milestone highlights both the scale of trade moving through the port and the importance of continued investment in the port’s long-term capacity.

“With the right infrastructure and technology investments, including the Sydney rail interchange program we are delivering in partnership with NSW Ports and critical technology upgrades at the terminal, we have a significant opportunity to unlock additional capacity at Port Botany, improve freight efficiency, supply chain resilience and support the growth of a 24/7 trade economy for NSW.”

Matthew Mealing, regional operations manager for OOCL (Australia) was keen to congratulate all teams involved in last week’s record-breaking feat.

“This achievement reflects the outstanding execution of the OOCL operations team, delivering a well-planned repositioning program to support the increased volume. DP World Botany played a critical role, demonstrating excellent productivity and operational capability throughout the call,” Mr Mealing said.

“The result was further enabled by OOCL’s ECPs, rail, and road providers, whose efficient landside coordination ensured smooth container flow and supply chain stability. Overall, this milestone highlights the strength of collaboration across all stakeholders and reinforces OOCL’s capability to consistently deliver high-volume, high-performance port operations.”

OOCL Brazil is now enroute to Kaohsiung on its return voyage, having departed Brisbane on Wednesday (20 May). It is one of six similarly-sized ships on the A3C loop.