U.S. Ports to Host Largest Container Ship Yet

The newbuild CMA CGM container ship Benjamin Franklin, delivered on December 4 by China State Shipbuilding Corporation, will be calling at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Oakland in late December. At 18,000 TEU and 1,300 feet in length, the vessel will be the largest containership ever to visit the United States.

She departed Ningbo, China on Sunday, and as of December 14 her AIS signal showed her at dock near Busan, South Korea.

The port calls will be a trial run, as officials seek to ensure that berthing and cargo operations proceed smoothly with the U.K.-flagged Franklin.

"Nothing this big has ever been seen in our country," said Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle.  "There's no doubt others will follow suit and we're gratified that Oakland is one of the only ports in the U.S. ready to receive them."

In addition to being the largest of her class ever to call at an American port, the ultra large container vessel (ULCV) Franklin is the tenth largest in the world. Her planned regular run will take her from China to California and South Korea.

There are few ports in the U.S. capable of handling such large container ships – the majority lack either water depth for berthing or air draft for arrival and departure. The Port of Oakland has invested millions in dredging, raising cranes and upgrading terminals to handle ULCV port calls. And port officials note that even though the Panama Canal is expanding, with new locks scheduled to open this coming year, it will still not be large enough to accommodate ULCVs. This means that the largest, most cost-effective container ships need West Coast ports for routes from Asia to America (barring the construction of the proposed Nicaragua Canal or the opening of a Northwest Passage above Canada).