RSCT logs 136.3 moves per hour on 14,414 TEU CMA CGM vessel

Red Sea Container Terminals (RSCT) recorded 136.3 moves per hour while working the CMA CGM G. Washington, a 14,414 TEU ultra-large container vessel operated by CMA CGM, the terminal said in a press release.

The call came through the REX2 service, on which CMA CGM deploys the ship. RSCT put five quay cranes on the operation to reach the figure. The release did not state the date of the call, the port location or the number of containers moved during the stay, and it did not say whether 136.3 moves per hour is a record for the facility.

What does the number actually measure?

Moves per hour counts how many container lifts a terminal completes in an hour, either per crane or across the whole operation, and it is the core productivity metric carriers use when comparing port calls. RSCT framed the 136.3 result as evidence it can run efficient, high-performance operations for ultra-large container vessels, the category into which the 14,414 TEU G. Washington falls as the release describes it.

Five quay cranes on a single vessel is an aggressive deployment for a call of this size, and the combination of crane count and hourly moves is the figure carriers price into schedule reliability. The release referred to a measure abbreviated as VOR without explaining it, so the term is not used here until the terminal confirms its meaning and how it is calculated.

What did the terminal say?

RSCT called the operation a major operational milestone and attributed the result to three things: the dedication of its operations teams, effective coordination and a continued commitment to operational excellence. The statement was issued by the company and was not attributed to a named spokesperson, so no individual executive stands behind the number.

The release closed by summarising the terminal's aims as driving performance, delivering reliability and connecting global trade, language that sits closer to marketing boilerplate than operational disclosure.

What is missing from the announcement?

Several material details are absent:

• The date of the call, so the productivity figure cannot be tied to a specific week of operations.
• The total number of containers moved during the stay, which would show whether the hourly rate held across a full discharge-and-load cycle or a short stay.
• The other ports on the REX2 rotation and any carrier partners on the service, which the terminal did not name, so the route is not described here.
• Confirmation of whether the berth productivity was measured per crane or vessel-wide, a distinction that changes how the figure compares across terminals.

Why the figure still matters for carriers

For a 14,414 TEU vessel, berth productivity translates directly into time saved. Ultra-large ships earn their economics at sea and burn money at the quay, so a terminal sustaining more than 130 moves per hour with five cranes shortens port stays and protects schedule integrity on the string. That is the commercial argument CMA CGM and other operators on the lane will weigh when allocating tonnage.

For shippers and forwarders, faster turnaround on ultra-large vessels means tighter schedule reliability on the REX2 service and fewer cascade delays downstream in the rotation.

RSCT gave no forward guidance in the release beyond its stated aims, so the trajectory for future calls, and whether 136.3 becomes a benchmark rather than a one-off, will show in the terminal's next published productivity figures.