The container terminal at Southampton has received its largest box ship ever, the 9,600-TEU CMA CGM Orfeo.
The Liberian-flagged monster vessel, weighing in at 111,200 gross tonnes, is 350 metres long and the equivalent in length to twice the height of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, reports the Southampton Daily Echo.
The newspaper report said that the terminal, which has recently been renamed DP World Southampton, unloaded only a small amount of the containers the ship is capable of carrying.
The report noted that the trend towards ever bigger containerships in keeping with economies of scale has prompted terminal operators to invest in new box handling equipment, including mighty cranes long enough to stretch across the vast decks of such mega ships, which are described as being as wide as a motorway.
Asian Shipper
Login
