![\"MSC](\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/plugins\/rss-poster\/cache\/4cd01_MSC_Sola.jpg\")
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The MSC SOLA \u2013 one of the largest container ships to enter South African Waters to date \u2013 will call at Africa\u2019s busiest and largest port in Durban, on Wednesday 4 July 2012 and her next port of call will be Port Elizabeth\u2019s, Port of Nqura.<\/p>\n
Built in 2008, The MSC SOLA is more than the length of three and a half rugby pitches (363.5 meters long and 45.6 meters wide) with an impressive gross tonnage of 131771 and a slot capacity of 11,660 TEU (20-foot standard containers), with connections for 960 refrigerated containers (reefers).<\/p>\n
The vessel arriving \u2013 half laden \u2013 from the Far East via Port Louis, will be guided into port by Bongiwe Mbambo, one of the three women, who last year made history as Africa\u2019s first black, female marine pilots to obtain the prestigious \u2018open licence\u2019. This qualification enables Mbambo to navigate ships of any size and type into the port.<\/p>\n
What makes this event even more unique is that due to the enormity of the vessel, four tugs will be used \u2013 for the first time ever \u2013 to escort it into port, AND that these tugs will also be navigated by female tug masters.<\/p>\n
Tau Morwe, Chief Executive of TNPA said: \u201cWith the ever-increasing number of large vessels visiting our ports, we believe that South Africa is ideally positioned as a leading trans-shipment point between the emerging markets of the eastern and western seaboards.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is noteworthy, that the introduction of these vessels to our waters indicates the confidence shipping lines such as the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has in our ability to operate in an environment that is effective, safe and efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have made great strides towards gender and racial equality and transformation in the maritime environment, as we see more black females playing such crucial roles in this industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever the arrival of the MSC SOLA is a powerful illustration of the need to implement the planned deepening of the three berths alongside the north quay of Pier 2, to enable ships of this size to come in fully laden.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo ensure the country remains competitive and well ahead of demand, we need to increase the port handling facility by more than 50% in the next seven years. By doing so, container capacity will increase from approximately 2.7 million TEUs annually to more than 5 million TEUs.\u201d said Morwe.<\/p>\n
The vessel sets sail next for the Port of Nqura in Coega, Port Elizabeth before leaving for Port Louis and thereafter the Far East.<\/p>\n
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MSC Sola<\/p>\n
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The MSC SOLA \u2013 one of the largest container ships to enter South African Waters to date \u2013 will call at Africa\u2019s busiest and largest port in Durban, on Wednesday 4 July 2012 and her next port of call will be Port Elizabeth\u2019s, Port of Nqura. Built in 2008, The MSC SOLA is more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[1289,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-12088","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-mype","8":"tag-port-elizabeth-2","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}