The Port of Hamburg has announced the loading and unloading of the first AE-8 ship, the Maersk Sarnia, at the German port.

According to the port, AE-1 and AE-8 Far East services, consisting of a fleet of 18 container ships with a combined TEU of 8,200-8,650 TEU, have been running since March of this year.

“The AE-1 was putting in at Hamburg already,” a company press release said. “With the loading and unloading of the first AE-8 ship in Hamburg, the Maersk Sarnia, Europe’s most significant seaport for shipping to the Far East and China is now also a port of call for this important service.”

To mark the occasion, the captain of the Maersk Sarnia was handed the Admiralty Coat of Arms of the Port of Hamburg.

According to the port, container ships between Hamburg and Asia reached a total volume of 5.6m TEU in 2007, and grew by 2.7 per cent in the first seven months of 2008.