THE world's second biggest container ship arrived in Southampton.

MOL Triumph, the largest vessel ever to call at a UK port, dwarfed other ships when she arrived at DP World Southampton at 2pm on Thursday.

The huge vessel is more than 1,300 feet long and can transport 20,150 TEU (20ft equivalent units) containers.

The enormous ship can be seen in aerial footage below, taken by Alex Baker of Droid Cam.

It was visible from Mayflower Park and Town Quay, as well as locations in the New Forest near Southampton Water.


Earlier this year MOL Triumph became the first container ship to surpass 20,000 TEU but has recently been overtaken by the newly-launched Madrid Maersk, which can carry 20,568 TEU.

DP World is handling vessels on services operated by the three major consortia of 2M, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance.

All three have started taking delivery of ultra-large container ships capable of handling more than 20,000 TEU containers. MOL Triumph was the first of the new super-ships to enter service earlier this year and Southampton is her first port of call in the UK.

DP World operates two terminals in the UK - Southampton and London Gateway.

Chris Lewis, the company's UK managing director, said: “Welcoming MOL Triumph at Southampton and opening a third berth at London Gateway, as two Far East services begin calling, are significant and proud occasions for DP World in the UK.

“It is an honour to be hosting one of the world’s largest container ships as it arrives in Northern Europe for the first time.

“Our customers and their customers can be assured that we will continue to work tirelessly to deliver the very best service for vessels of all sizes, operating on all trade routes - and to help make supply chains as efficient as possible.”

MOL Triumph boasts state-of-the-art technology that aims to cut fuel consumption and improve environmental performance.

She was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje, South Korea, and was christened in a ceremony in the country on March 15 this year.