The Albert Maersk, a 352m-long vessel, boasts its size of 109,000DWT with a container intake of 8,272-TEU.

During the traditional Tet holiday, the SP-PSA port also received the 345m Queen Mary II cruise ship, with 2,600 passengers on board.

The port authority said the arrival of the vessels marked the start of new direct-call services to Europe and North America , which are expected to benefit importers and exporters.

SP-PSA International Port is a joint venture between the Sai Gon Port, Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) and PSA International Pte of Singapore. Starting operations in May last year, the port is the first deep-sea container terminal of Vietnam.