The 4500 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) 265.8m-long vessel quietly chalked up a record, Laust's 13.5m draft being the deepest container vessel to sail from New Zealand waters, bound for Malaysia, since container ships were first introduced 35 years ago.
The Laust sailing comes only a few weeks since Port Otago completed the first stage of its Next Generation harbour-deepening programme, to 13.5m, in preparation for ships larger than the Laust, which may be in New Zealand waters some time next year.
Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket said the deeper channel allowed large container ships, such as Laust Maersk, to make full use of the extra channel depth to carry more cargo.
"That a shipping line is able to make use of the extra channel depth so quickly shows there is demand for ships to sail deeper from Port Chalmers as the last port on their New Zealand rotation,'' Mr Plunket said.
The new channel depth meant container lines now had the flexibility to add more cargo and improve their efficiency as they called down New Zealand's coast, as they could arrive carrying more containers into Port Chalmers and then sail carrying even more out, he said.
Maersk Line New Zealand managing director Gerard Morrison said the Laust loading and departure was a "significant development'' allowing Maersk's' larger vessels to be fully utilised.
"It's only when our vessels are filled to capacity that we can start to create efficiencies across the entirely supply chain,'' Mr Morrison said.
Other Port Otago preparations for bigger vessels, costing around $30million, include deepening the channel to 14m, berth sheet-piling, construction of two new warehouses, adding an additional 12,800sq m capacity, and buying a new tug and split-hopper barge.
