The 11,568 TEU MSC Avni arrived at the Port of Philadelphia on January 14, 2018, becoming the largest cargo vessel to ever call this port.
Built by China’s Jihnhai Intelligent Manufacturing in September 2017, the New Panamax is managed by Norway’s SinOceanic Shipping, VesselsValue’s data shows.
The boxship, which flies the flag of Liberia, features a length of 314.3 meters and a width of 48.2 meters.
MSC Avni, the largest vessel ever to sail up the Delaware River, docked at PhilaPort after visiting Panamanian Port of Cristobal.
In 2017, PhilaPort saw more containerized freight, more cars and non-containerized cargoes, and the promise of four larger cranes, capable of handling larger ships.
The first two cranes, as big as any in New York Harbor, are on their way from Shanghai and are scheduled to arrive in March 2018.
In December 2017, the port authority announced the USD 23.5 million purchase of two additional New Panamax-size container gantry cranes, which will arrive in April 2019 and enable Philadelphia to double container cargo volumes.
In 2016, Pennsylvania Governor’s USD 300 million Port Development Plan formed a public-private agreement for capital improvements to Packer Avenue Marine Terminal (PAMT). Under the plan, the terminal operator, Greenwich Terminals, a Holt subsidiary, agreed to purchase one gantry crane and PhilaPort would buy three gantry cranes.
World Maritime News Staff