The largest containership ever to go to North America arrived on the port of Los Angeles early Saturday morning, marking the U.S. debut of a brand new breed of ‘mega ships’ which have till now solely been seen in Asia and Europe.  

The 398-meter, 18,000 TEU capability MV CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin arrived simply after 4 a.m. at APM Terminals’ Pier 400 on the port of Los Angeles after crusing from China.

The ship is one of a brand new sort of Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) being constructed at shipyards in Asia by among the largest carriers to extend capability and effectivity on the world’s busiest delivery routes. The vessels measure as much as 400 meters lengthy (1,312 ft.) and are designed to carry greater than 18,000, and in some instances even 19,000 twenty-foot equal containers, however till now they’ve been deployed completely on Asia to N. Europe commerce routes.

The Benjamin Franklin is owned by France’s CMA CGM Group, who says the ship will function on its Pearl River Express, an everyday service connecting a few of China’s predominant ports, together with Xiamen, Nansha and Yantian, with Los Angeles and Oakland. The vessel will name on the port of Oakland subsequent on December thirty first earlier than heading again throughout the Pacific to China.

While some have mentioned the arrival of the Benjamin Franklin marks a ‘new era’ of mega-ships calling at U.S. ports, others view the arrival as principally symbolic, meant as a trial run to check West Coast port infrastructure earlier than extra ULCVs can observe go well with. 

More Reading: 

• First Mega Ship Coming to United States
• U.S. West Coast Ports ‘Not Ready’ for Giant Boxships