It was reported that the MSC Taerim, a container ship operated by the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., which is the largest container shipping line in the world by capacity, had docked at the Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd on Wednesday. This event marked the first mainline direct call to Europe from V O Chidambaranar Port in two decades. The container ship, which has a capacity to load 1,890 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), arrived from Chittagong, Bangladesh, and was set to sail to European ports including Sines in Portugal, Valencia in Spain, and Bejaia in Algeria. A source from the shipping industry stated that it was an ad hoc call by the Taerim and that MSC needed to assess the feasibility of establishing a regular direct mainline service to Europe from the Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal. It was noted that MSC was awaiting security clearance from the Union government to acquire a 49 percent stake in the terminal, following a global deal in March 2022 to purchase Bollore Africa Logistics for €5.7 billion. Bollore Africa Logistics holds a 49 percent stake in the Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal, one of the two container terminals operating at the state-owned V O Chidambaranar Port Authority. The majority 51 percent stake in the terminal is held by India Ports and Logistics Pvt Ltd, which is itself 51 percent owned by Star Ports Ltd, a unit of Mumbai-listed Starlog Enterprises Ltd. Bollore Africa Logistics, recognized as Africa’s largest transport and logistics operator, holds the remaining stake. It was mentioned that MSC controls approximately 44 percent of the volumes handled at the Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal, which primarily feeds the transhipment hub at Colombo Port. The terminal has a water depth of 14.2 meters and a capacity to load 720,000 TEUs annually, currently handling around 55,000 TEUs each month. Although the deal for acquiring a 49 percent stake in DBGT could only be finalized after receiving security approval from the Union government, officials from the V O C Port Authority indicated that MSC was bringing many ships to the terminal, thus increasing volumes. A port official remarked that MSC was ultimately the owner of the terminal, with only the labelling pending, and noted that the security approval would arrive in due time. The shipping industry source also mentioned that MSC was looking to purchase a rail-linked inland container depot (ICD) near V O C Port to facilitate the movement of containers discharged at DBGT over long distances. The source added that MSC had a significant market share in Thoothukudi and aimed to expand this share by utilizing the DBGT.