Port Everglades Uses Visit of Largest Boxship to Urge Channel Improvements
Port Everglades celebrated the arrival of the largest cargo ship to ever visit the port on August 12. While highlighting the continued growth in the port’s cargo operations, officials also used it as an opportunity to urge progress on the Port Everglades Navigation Improvements Project (PENIP), which was approved by the U.S. Congress a decade ago.
The MSC Vandya (182,000 dwt) made a brief port stop during which the port expected to offload approximately 1,300 TEU and load additional boxes bound for Asia. Built in 2012, the ship is 1,200 feet in length and has a maximum capacity of 13,050 TEU. The MSC Vandya stopped in Port Everglades as part of MSC’s Dragon Service to the Far East, and departed on Wednesday afternoon.
“Ships today are being built larger and more sustainable because they can carry more containers in fewer trips, thereby reducing their carbon footprint,” said Port Everglades CEO and Port Director Joseph Morris. “The MSC Vandya is a good example of why Port Everglades continues to operate at a disadvantage. Until we deepen and widen our navigational channel, ships will arrive lightly loaded or will be forced to call on another port, adding time and cost to the transportation of goods.”
The port achieved its best cargo year in FY 2025 with 1,167,552 TEUs, setting a new Port Everglades record. However, officials highlight that currently 8,000 TEUs is the highest number of TEUs that a ship coming into Port Everglades can carry due to current water depth restrictions.
MSC Vandya maneuvering in the port (Port Everglades)
They highlighted that for the past 30 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on the Port Everglades Navigation Improvements Project (PENIP) to deepen and widen Port Everglades navigation channels to enable the safe passage of newer, larger, and more sustainable ships.
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The PENIP calls for deepening the main channel from 42 feet to 48 feet with two feet extra overdepth for a total of 50 feet and widening the Intracoastal Waterway by the U.S. Coast Guard Station where there is a chokepoint. The project was authorized by Congress in December 2016.
Port Everglades reports it is continuing to work with its federal and state partners to move this project forward. It emphasized that the project remains critical to retaining global business partners and reducing delays in the supply chain that feeds, clothes, and fuels in South Florida.
