On Sept. 1, the CMA CGM Callisto, the largest container ship ever to call Puget Sound, arrived at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 18 cargo container facility, an occurrence that the port says heralds the larger ships cascading into trans-Pacific trade.
With a capacity of 11,400 20-foot equivalent container units, the CMA CGM Callisto is 1,193 feet long and 150 feet wide, making it 100 feet longer than the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. Almost two Space Needles could fit end-to-end across its length.
The UK-flagged vessel holds more than 40 percent more cargo than most of the container ships that call at terminals within either the Port of Seattle or the Port of Tacoma, collectively known as the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
“Ships continue to get larger, and we are ready for them,” Northwest Seaport Alliance Chief Executive Officer John Wolfe said in a statement. “We are investing in our terminals and road and rail infrastructure to handle more cargo and the super-post-Panamax ships moving into the trans-Pacific trade.”
France-based global container shipping company CMA CGM has called in Seattle since 2005.
The CMA CGM Callisto called at Port Metro Vancouver before arriving in Seattle, and is scheduled to depart Seattle this week for Shanghai.
