PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WVEC) -- The biggest container ship ever to dock along the East Coast pulled into Virginia International Gateway.
The COSCO Development is about 1,200 feet long. That's only 250 feet shy of the length of the Empire State Building and more than 100 feet longer than the U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford.
It can carry more than 13,000 containers.
“We’ve seen nothing like her here,” said John. F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port
Authority. “For years, we have been talking about the ‘next generation’ of vessels and the ‘big-ship era’. This is
what we have been preparing for: the talk is over, the big ships are here.”
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne were among the people expected to tour the ship as part of a celebration Monday.
The Port of Virginia said that a ship of the Development's size will call at the port every week.
During the course of her 30-plus hour stay in Virginia, multiple labor shifts will load and unload nearly 2,000 containers. On average, most vessels are here for 12 to 14 hours.