Largest Cargo ship to ever visit East Coast breaks records in Halifax, says an article on Huddle.
CMA CGM Marco Polo
The CMA CGM Marco Polo glided into the city late in the evening May 17, after a voyage from Colombo, Sri Lanka that took 18 days and 17 hours.
Stretching 396 meters, the ship is longer than 32 school busses lined up end-to-end. It can hold more than 16,000 20-foot shipping containers, which is enough to transport almost 1 million refrigerators.
Although much larger container ships now exist, when the Marco Polo was built, in 2012, it was the biggest in the world.
“Ultra-class”
PSA Halifax runs the terminal that hosted Marco Polo. The terminal has 800 meters of berth length and a depth of 16.5 meters and is the only one in Eastern Canada that can handle “ultra-class” vessels like the Marco Polo.
“The arrival of CMA CGM Marco Polo signifies a milestone for PSA Halifax as a team–it is testament to the terminal’s capabilities and to the recent delivery of key infrastructure–taking Halifax forward together and recognizing the efficiency and reliability of this deep-water Atlantic hub for our customers,” PSA Halifax CEO Jan van Mossevelde said.
Along with being the largest cargo ship to ever visit Canada, the Marco Polo will break several other North American records as it continues down the east coast.
Once it’s finished in Halifax, the ship will continue to ports in New York, Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Port of Halifax spokesperson Lane Farguson has said Haligonians should expect more ultra-sized cargo ships to pass through the city in the future (the port considers any ship more than 350 meters long ultra-sized).
Not long ago, in 2014, the port marked a milestone by welcoming a ship capable of carrying 7,500 20-foot shipping containers (that’s only 450,000 fridges).
“That 7,500, that was a big deal then. That was one of the largest vessels calling on the east coast at that time,” said Farguson.
Then, in 2017, that the first ultra-sized vessel floated into Halifax harbor. Farguson says average ship size has been increasing “steadily” since then.
“What’s happened in terms of the evolution of the ships that are calling is really quite spectacular when you think about it,” he said.
Halifax – capable of servicing ultra-sized vessels
Halifax is one of only a handful of ports on the east coast of North America capable of servicing ultra-sized vessels.
That makes the port an attractive option for shipping companies investing in larger and larger ships. But Farguson says that the port needs to up its game if it wants to remain competitive.
Last year, the port added to its capability by installing a ship-to-shore super post-Panamax crane.
It also finished work on a deep-water berth extension that will allow it to (in most cases) hold two ultra-sized vessels at once.
“All of those pieces are coming together to ensure that Halifax can continue to receive and efficiently turn around these ultra-large vessels that are now calling,” said Farguson.
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Source: Huddle
