Panama Canal welcomes largest capacity vessel to date

The Neopanamax vessel CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, which measures 1,200 feet in length and 158 feet in beam and has a container carrying capacity of 14,885 TEUs, on Aug. 22 became the largest ship to ever transit the Central American waterway.    On Aug. 22, the Panama Canal welcomed the largest capacity vessel to ever transit its 14-month-old expanded locks, the CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, which can carry up to 14,885 TEUs.
   The Neopanamax containership, which began its voyage from Asia, measures 365.9 meters (1,200 feet) in length and 48.2 meters (158 feet) in beam.
   “Today’s transit not only represents the growing success and adoption of the expanded canal, but also its impact on reshaping world trade,” Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano said.
   According to ocean carrier schedule database BlueWater Reporting, the CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt is deployed on the OCEAN Alliance’s new weekly Asia-U.S. East Coast South Atlantic Express (SAX) service. Commenced in early April, the SAX loop operates with 11 vessels – four from CMA CGM, five from COSCO and two from OOCL – with an average capacity of 13,386 TEUs. The full port rotation of the service is Hong Kong, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Colon (Panama), Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston and back to Hong Kong.
   By traveling through Panama, the Theodore Roosevelt saved 29,561 tons of CO2 emissions in bypassing the Cape of Good Hope, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). In its first year of operation, the expanded canal contributed to the reduction of 17 million tons of CO2 because of the shorter traveling distance and larger cargo carrying capacity that it offers to customers, ACP said.
   The canal authority said the Theodore Roosevelt is also expected to call the Port of New York and New Jersey, which recently completed a four year, $1.6 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge to 215 feet, thereby allowing ships larger than 9,500 TEU to dock at three of its four primary terminals located west of the bridge.