NY/NJ receives largest containership in port history

The 13,208-TEU OOCL Berlin, which measures over 1,200 feet in length and is 157 feet wide, is also the largest vessel to date to transit under the newly elevated Bayonne Bridge roadway.

   The largest containership to ever call at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the 13,208-TEU OOCL Berlin, arrived at the port for the first time July 17.
   The Hong Kong-flagged vessel, which was built in 2013, sailed into Newark Bay to dock at Maher Terminals Berth 68 on Monday. The OOCL Berlin, which measures over 1,200 feet in length and is 157 feet wide, is also the largest vessel to date to transit under the newly elevated Bayonne Bridge roadway.
   Up until Monday, the longest ships to ever call New York and New Jersey terminals had been 1,000 feet long.
   The vessel, which is operated by Orient Overseas Container Line in a vessel sharing agreement with OCEAN Alliance partners CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, and Evergreen Line, was rotated to the Port of New York and New Jersey to load empties on one of its many all-water East Coast services.
   The OCEAN Alliance and other carrier alliances have announced their intention to deploy even larger vessels of up to 18,000 TEUs to the Port of New York and New Jersey as cargo demand grows and fewer East Coast ports are able to keep up with the needed infrastructure improvements in order to safely handle and work ships of that size.
   Upon the OOCL Berlin’s arrival, port staff, along with officials from Maher Terminals, presented a plaque marking the occasion to the Master of the vessel, Capt. Tan Chen Seng.
   A sister ship to the OOCL Berlin of identical size, the OOCL Malaysia, is expected to call at the Port of New York and New Jersey later this summer, while three other ships from the same group – the OOCL Korea, the OOCL Chongqing and the OOCL France – are being considered for future rotation to New York and New Jersey, based on market conditions in the second half of 2017, according to the port.