The Port of Savannah on Wednesday welcomed the primary vessel to name on the port by way of new locks of the expanded Panama Canal.

At a capability of 10,100 twenty-foot equal container models, MOL Benefactor can also be the most important ship ever to name the Port of Savannah.

The container ship was scheduled to maneuver over 3,000 containers on the Georgia Port Authority’s Garden City terminal.

MOL Benefactor is a part of the G6 Alliance’s new NYX service proving direct service from far east Asia to the U.S. East Coast and solely deploying vessels within the 10,000 vary beforehand too massive to sail by way of the Panama Canal. Other U.S. calls embody the ports of New York/New Jersey and Norfolk, Virginia.

“The arrival of the MOL Benefactor today ushers in a new era of larger vessels and services that will increase capacity, volumes and economic opportunities for Georgia and this region,” stated Griff Lynch, GPA’s Executive Director. “GPA is well-positioned to handle the larger vessels and greater volumes due to the scale and scope of our operations.”

In preparation for the Panama Canal growth, the GPA has eight new neo-panamax cranes on order, making for a complete of 30 ship-to-shore cranes by 2018. GPA has additionally added 30 rubber-tired gantry cranes for a present fleet of 146 machines – probably the most of any single container terminal within the U.S.

There can also be the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) will deepen the interior harbor to 47 toes and the outer harbor to 49 toes at imply low water. The outer portion of the harbor is now 15 p.c full.

“Over the next six months to a year, we expect a higher ratio of 8,000- to 10,000- TEU container ships among our vessels calls. Within two years, we expect market shifts to send 12,000-TEU vessels to the U.S. East Coast,” Lynch added.

MOL Benefactor turned the primary neopanamax containership to move by way of the brand new locks of the expanded Panama Canal on July 1, 2016.