The MSC Beatrice
has become the largest-ever container vessel to dock at the Port of Long Beach.
On the morning of Sept. 30, the ship – which is 1,200 feet long, 167 feet wide and
capable of carrying 13,798 TEUs – docked at Long Beach’s Pier T on Terminal Island.
Until this year, the largest
container ships serving North America had capacities of about 10,000 TEUs. Ships
carrying up to 12,500 TEUs began calling at the Port of Long Beach earlier in 2012.
“The new ships are bigger
and greener and we’re pleased to be able to accommodate these vessels at the Port
of Long Beach,” port Executive Director Chris Lytle said. “We’re among the few ports
that are ‘big ship ready,’ and that means that we can continue to bring cargo to
Long Beach in the most sustainable way possible.”
The MSC Beatrice,
which was built in South Korea in 2009 and is operated by Switzerland-based Mediterranean
Shipping Co., is the latest of the new generation of big container ships to be put
into service on US-Asia trade routes.
It arrived in Long Beach
from Yantian, China and is currently scheduled to depart Southern California for
the Port of Oakland the morning of Oct. 4.
