World's Biggest Container Ship, the MSC Oscar, at Port of Felixstowe
World's biggest container ship, the 19,224 TEU MSC Oscar, has made its maiden call at the Port of Felixstowe, the Port of Britain.
Clemence Cheng, chief executive of Port of Felixstowe, said it was a "very happy day" for the port.
He said: “We are delighted to welcome the MSC Oscar to Felixstowe on its maiden voyage. Our relationship with MSC dates back to the 1980s and over the last 30 years we have grown together and continue to work in close partnership to provide the best possible service to UK importers and exporters."
More than 200 people lined the beach between the public viewing platform and Landguard Point to welcome the ship's arrival, although the ship was not carrying a full load.
MSC Oscar is shorter in length than the previous holder the CSCL Globe, which docked in Felixstowe in January, but can carry 124 more containers. It is 396m (1,300ft) long and has a capacity of 19,224 standard containers.
The MSC Oscar was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea and is the first of seven similar sized ships that will be delivered to MSC in 2015. It has a total of 18 ships in the 19,000 TEU class on order for delivery over the next few years.
The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the UK. It benefits from being the closest UK container port to the main ports of Northern Europe and having direct marine access from the North Sea.
