The record-breaking arrival of one
of the world’s largest container ships to the Port of London proved to be a satisfying job for our pilotage team.

London Gateway welcomed the
400 metre long Al Muraykh on
New Year’s Eve and she was carrying a record 18,601 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), or more than 18,000 containers.

She arrived in London after sailing more than 7,000 miles from Malaysia's Port Klang to unload nearly 4,000 containers. It was
the most ever shipping containers carried by any vessel and London Gateway was its first port of call
in Europe.

Pilots Nick Lee and Hywel Pugh safely berthed Al Muraykh at London Gateway after boarding her at North East Spit Pilot Station off Ramsgate, Kent.

Nick said: “It was a complicated
job but one we were well prepared for. We boarded her about 8.30pm and got to London Gateway around 4am. Another ship was getting ready to leave the berth at London Gateway and it was our job

to safely get her into the berth.
“Hywel used the PPU and I was
glad there were two of us on the
job, it was really a team effort.”

Pilot Portable Units, or PPUs, are laptop computer devices which combine electronic charts, vessel traffic service images and other
safety and navigation information to help pilots as they guide vessels on the Thames.

He added: “Al Muraykh’s call is a
sign of the size of ships we’ll be seeing more of in the Port of
London. It's great news for the
Tidal Thames.”

Director of Marine Operations,
Peter Steen, said “Our pilots
showed great skill and flexibility handling this short-notice call by an

ultra large container vessel.”
Many of the consumer goods that were unloaded at London Gateway were on UK high streets in time for the January sales.

Simon Moore, CEO, DP World London Gateway, said: “This is a great start to 2016 and we welcome UASC’s world record breaking ship to DP World London Gateway Port. This ship demonstrates the port can take any vessel afloat and provide world-class services to carriers. “We are now focused on providing this world-class service to cargo owners as cargo is collected.”