The largest containerized cargo ship in Port Everglades’ history, equal to the size of an air craft carrier, is calling at the South Florida seaport, Monday, October 22.
The MSC Texas, at 1,095-feet long, 141-feet wide and 90,745-gross-registered tons, can carry as many as 8,238 20-foot containers when fully loaded at a draft of 47.6 feet. The ship is coming from Northern Europe on a weekly service into Port Everglades.
Previously, the largest container ship to call at Port Everglades, also an MSC ship that came in March 2011, was 1,066-foot-long, 140-foot wide, 89,954-gross-registered-tons. MSC is one of the leading global shipping lines in the world.
“Container ships are increasingly larger because it makes good business and environmental sense to carry more cargo per voyage. Given this trend, we fully expect larger vessels, such as the MSC Texas, to frequently call Port Everglades in the future, especially once the Panama Canal is expanded,” says Port Everglades’ Steven Cernak, Chief Executive & Port Director. “We are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen and widen the navigable channels at Port Everglades so that we are prepared to handle these ever larger ships going forward.”
The Army Corps of Engineers is currently studying the Port Everglades project and is expected to release and environmental and feasibility study in late November 2012 for public comment. The project calls for deepening and widening the Outer Entrance Channel from an existing 45-foot project depth over a 500-foot channel width to a 57-foot depth with an 800-foot channel width, deepening the Inner Entrance Channel and Main Turning Basin from 42 feet to 50 feet, and widening the channels within the Port to increase the margin of safety for ships transiting to berth. The total cost is estimated to be $320 million, including a $131 million investment by the Port. A preliminary benefit/cost analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that there will be a $1.56 return for every dollar invested. Widening and deepening the channel at Port Everglades is projected to create 5,862 construction jobs in the near term and 1,491 regional jobs by the year 2027.
Port Everglades is one of the nation’s leading container ports. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system, is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and is just one mile from the Atlantic Shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle future growth in container traffic. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry for products shipped around the world.
More information about Broward County’s Port Everglades is available on the Internet at porteverglades.net or by calling toll-free in the United States 1-800-421-0188 or emailing PortEvergladesCargo@broward.org.