Port of Boston handles its largest containership ever

The Massachusetts Port Authority revealed that shipping lines continue to indicate their intention to deploy 10,000-12,000 TEU containerships to the port, which just received its largest containership ever this past weekend, the 8,532-TEU Xin Mei Zhou.    The Port of Boston handled the largest containership in its history over the weekend when the 8,530-TEU Xin Mei Zhou called its Conley Terminal Sunday, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) said.
   The Xin Mei Zhou is operated by CSCL, which will become China COSCO Shipping upon completion of its merger with fellow Chinese carrier COSCO.
   The vessel is deployed on the AWE4, jointly operated by the CKYHE Alliance and CSCL, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting. The AWE4, which is dedicated to trade between Asia and the East Coast of North America, operates with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 8,467 TEUs and a rotation of  Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, New York, Boston, Norfolk and Qingdao. CMA CGM and its subsidiary lines ANL and U.S. Lines purchase slots on the loop.
   Massport said the ship discharged approximately 1,854 TEU of cargo and loaded 1,360 TEUs.
   “We expect total Port of Boston volume (discharged + loaded, including empties) on this service to range between 3,000 and 3,800 TEUs per vessel call going forward now that the average size of vessel deployed to Boston on the AWE4 service has been upgraded to 8,000+ TEUs,” said Matthew Brelis, a Massport spokesman.
   “This is an exciting time at Conley as we have seen double digit growth in both imports and exports this year,” Massport Port Director Lisa Wieland said. “Having calls by larger ships is the future, and the Port is working diligently to accommodate them.”
   Conley’s two berths have been servicing ships that carry 4,000-6,000 TEUs. Following the opening of the expanded Panama Canal on June 26, COSCOCS and its partners in the CKYHE Alliance announced deployment of 8,500-TEU vessels on the Asia to East Coast route.
   Massport said shipping lines continue to indicate their intention to deploy vessels carrying 10,000-12,000 TEUs in the future.
   “The need for a new berth, landside improvements and harbor dredging are all being addressed by the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, the Commonwealth, Massport and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Wieland commended the abilities of the workers who have brought significant improvement to the Port’s efficiency,” Massport said.
   Earlier this month, Massport was notified it would receive $42 million as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FASTLANE grant program, in which the department announced 18 proposed grant awards totaling $759.2 million in funding for nationally significant transportation infrastructure projects.
   Massport will use the funding to upgrade existing facilities at Conley to better handle the larger ships coming to Boston.
   In addition, Massport could potentially get $107 million in state funding from the economic development bill submitted by Governor Baker’s administration. That funding would go towards the building of a new berth west of the existing berths at Conley and larger cranes to handle larger ships carrying more cargo.