Malta Freeport Terminals handled a record 3.31 million TEU containers in 2018 and will this yearbe steaming aheadwith an ambitious investment programme in equipment and facilitiesin a concerted drive to increase the Terminals’ capacity to four millioncontainers, the company said in a statement today.

More than 2,200 vessels over the past 12 months called at the Freeport, which has become accustomed to receiving the world’s largest container ships.

This week alone, the Freeport handled over 8,000 TEU containers on a single ship in an impressive display of its operational capabilities. Five super post-Panamax Quayside Cranes were deployed on the 398-metre-long APL Changi, which was built in 2013 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and carries 17,292 TEU containers, to enable workers to perform the feat.

Malta Freeport Terminals CEO Alex Montebello said: “2018was another exciting year for  Malta Freeport, breaking records once again in terms of throughput despite the fact we are operating at elevated capacity in a difficult and highly competitive environment.

“This is thanks to the investment we have made and dedication from our committed personnel – without whom the progress we’ve registered would not have been possible – but we are all determined to take the Freeport to the next level and enhance its reputation as one of the region’s go-to transshipment hubs.”

Caption: The Freeport this week handled over 8,000 TEU containers on the 398-metre-long APL Changi, which has a capacity to carry 17,292 TEU container.