Largest container ship to ever reach East Coast stops in Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The largest container ship ever to call on the East Coast has stopped in Virginia and is now headed for South Carolina and Georgia.

The Port of Virginia said in news release that the CMA CGM Marco Polo arrived in Portsmouth on Sunday and left on Monday afternoon.

The ship is a behemoth. It’s three-and-a-half football fields long. It would be roughly the height of the Eiffel Tower if it was stood on its end. The vessel can tote enough cargo to fit in more than 16,000 20-foot-long containers.

The ship’s arrival underscores both the surging volume handled by ports nationwide as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, as well as the billions of dollars spent by port systems to accommodate these larger ships.

Virginia Port Authority CEO Stephen A. Edwards said the massive ship was able to call on Virginia because of $800 million that has been invested to expand and modernize the port.

“This vessel’s size highlights the importance of our channel widening and deepening project,” Edwards said in a statement. “By 2024, Virginia will have the widest, deepest and safest commercial channels and harbor on the U.S. East Coast.”

Container volume at U.S. ports lagged a year ago during the height of the pandemic as manufacturing slowed, though the demand for goods remained fairly strong as travel and leisure dollars were shifted to home improvement projects and online purchases.

Since then, volume has come roaring back.