NORFOLK, Va. — The crew of the Marco Polo docked the nearly 1,300-foot monster of a ship at Norfolk's Port of Virginia on Sunday.
Joseph Harris, a spokesperson for the port, said the Marco Polo was the largest container ship to visit the East Coast to date.
This vessel can transport 16,022 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). That beats out the last record, set in April, when the MSC Virgo visited. The Virgo has a 15,072 TEU capacity.
Stephen Edwards, the CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, said the docking of such massive carriers showed that $800 million in expansion and modernization investments were well spent.
“It’s customers like CMA CGM that understand the value of what is taking place here: capability, efficiency, fluidity and customer service," he wrote.
The Marco Polo made its stop, hosted some tours and had left port again by Monday afternoon.
It's part of a French carrier service, CMA CGM, and the ship is on a route to travel between South Asia and the American East Coast.
