London Container Terminal (LCT) in Tilbury, along with the Port of London Authority (PLA), welcomed on August 14 the inaugural call of MSC Sofia Celeste, a 8,819 TEU Neopanamax vessel, following its transit of the newly enlarged Panama Canal.
Operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the Sofia Celeste is the first in a new class of vessels deployed on a reconfigurated service connecting the West Coast of South America, East Coast of North America and Northwest Europe.
The 110,039 dwt boxship features a length of 299.95 meters and a width of 48.22 meters.
Built in 2014, the vessel is the first to trade on MSC’s newly redesigned service line which includes stops in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and the Bahamas, before calling Philadelphia and heading to Rotterdam.
LCT is the UK’s third largest container terminal which handles over half a million containers per year.
Image Courtesy: Port of London Authority