Largest Container Ship to Ever Visit U.S. Docks in LA Saturday

A ship spanning nearly a quarter-mile in length and rising up about 20 stories out of the water will be the biggest container ship to ever call at a North American port when it arrives Saturday at the Port of Los Angeles.

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, made by a French company, is one-third bigger than the largest ships that now operate at the San Pedro Bay’s twin ports complex, and is part of a family of “ultra large container vessels” that have started operating at Asian and European ports in recent years.

The ship’s 1,306 feet length is comparable to the height of the 102- story tall Empire State Building, and its width matches that of an Olympic- sized swimming pool, according to port officials.

The ship’s maiden call will be at the Los Angeles port’s APM Terminals, at Pier 400.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, who will be on hand for the ship’s arrival ceremonies on Saturday, declared last week that not only is the Port of Los Angeles capable of handling the larger ship’s bigger loads, it is “prepared to continue growing and adapting to the demands of our global economy.”

The ship, launched on Dec. 10, has a carrying capacity of 18,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units. Earlier this year, the Port of Los Angeles was able to move a total of 38,000 containers from three 13,000 TEU capacity ships over a period of eight days, port officials said.

Port Executive Director Gene Seroka said the ship’s arrival “signals a new chapter in Pacific Rim trade flow and supply chain optimization.”

U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, noting that the Los Angeles port recently resolved congestion problems and a work slowdown, said the arrival of the Benjamin Franklin shows the port “is prepared for the next phase of modern trade.”

The ship is expected to return in early 2016, this time to the Port of Long Beach.

City News Service; Photo: www.cma-cgm.com