MAERSK Line super-sized ship, the Maersk McKinney Moller, came away from the Port of Algeciras bound for Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia, with a record load of 18,168 TEU.

While there are 19,000-TEUers in service today, never do they carry their full capacity for commercial and engineering reasons, not being able to fill the ship and having to call at ports they can only access when partially loaded.

With this load, the Maersk McKinney Moller becomes the first vessel to have sailed with over 18,000 TEU aboard and breaks the previous record set by Mary Maersk that also sailed from Algeciras with 17,603 TEU.

"I am proud, and humbled, to be the captain of the iconic Maersk McKinney Moller, the first vessel to cross the 18,000-TEU limit," said Capt Niels Vestergaard Pedersen.

"It is not an easy task to fill up a vessel like this. It is difficult to make a record like this, with a few people pushing, and many highlighting the risks. It is 100 per cent team effort and a lot of planning," he said.

Considered a backhaul from Europe to Asia with the bulk of laden containers flowing in the other direction from the Far East, many if not most boxes aboard were empty to be filled on their return.

Source: Shipping Gazette