The Port of East London on Wednesday hosted the first Post Panamax high efficiency Ro-Ro (Hero) class vessel to call at the port.

The MV Thermopylae, on its maiden voyage, delivered 595 passenger cars and light and heavy duty commercial vehicles in East London before departing for Australia, where it will deliver Mercedes-Benz products.

It is the widest car carrier to call at the East London port and was built at the Hyundai shipyard in Korea and flies the flag of Malta.

Hero is a specialised type of car carrier that was introduced by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean (WW Ocean) in 2015, to maximise on the widening of the Panama Canal international trade route.

These ships boast increased width and capacity, greater flexibility for a variety of vehicles, as well as reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

With a width of 36.5 m, gross tonnage of 75 283 t and a length of just under 200 m, the car carrier is broader than the standard large ship, which is slightly more than 32 m wide.

Other car carriers that have docked in East London had a maximum beam of 32 m.

“These Hero vessels offer greater capacity and can present even bigger challenges as well as opportunities for our ports than the usual roll-on, roll-off vessels, which are all big, boxy vessels with multiple decks that are built to carry thousands of vehicles in high-volume routes,” said Transnet National Ports Authority East London port manager Sharon Sijako.

She added that, to establish whether the port could safely dock the height and width of these Hero vessels, a simulation exercise was conducted in the town of Leer, in Germany, with WW Ocean, Lloyds of London and the Port of East London.

“When faced with this challenge, it was good to see the close cooperation between WW Ocean and Transnet to achieve this major milestone.

“As ships are evolving to become bigger, smarter and greener, it has been exciting to see the evolution of the Port of East London, from deepening the car terminal berths, to handling our large car and truck carrier Tijuca at 231 m length in October 2011, and now our widest Hero vessel,” commented WW Ocean South Africa head Niran Sheoprosad.

The ship is capable of taking a car payload of up to 8 000 car-equivalent units, compared with the 6 500 unit capacity of preceding pure car/truck carriers.

“As oversized project and breakbulk cargoes become a growing part of car carriers’ business, South African ports may begin to see more of these newer ships that are larger and more versatile, with design features that enable them to carry high and heavy project and breakbulk shipments in addition to vehicles,” said Transnet.

Carriers are investing in ships such as the Hero class that offer adjustable decks, high clearances and oversized ramps, that can handle locomotives, machinery and construction components weighing as much as 500 t.

Additionally, the Hero vessel includes a shallower draught, enabling it to dock even in developing countries, where depth is often an issue.

There are currently four vessels of this design in service and four more expected to be built. These vessels are spread across a few trade lanes, so a few will occasionally dock on the South African coast.