The largest container ship ever to call at a North American port is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on Dec.26th. French shipping line CMA-CGM launched the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin on Dec. 10. The vessel is scheduled to make her maiden call at APM Terminals-Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles.
The ship has a capacity of nearly 18,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), which is about a third larger than the biggest container ships that currently call at the San Pedro Bay port complex.
“It’s fitting that the largest container ship to ever traverse North American waters would make its first call right here at the Port of Los Angeles,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti, who recently met with Founder and Chairman Jacques Saadé and other top CMA CGM executives.
“The arrival of the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin sends a powerful message that our port stands among the world’s greatest, and that we are prepared to continue growing and adapting to the demands of our global economy.”
“As we were reminded nearly a year ago when activity at the ports along the West Coast came to a near standstill, our ports are a critical economic engine at the local, regional and national levels,” said Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez.
“Their effective, efficient operation is necessary for 21st century global commerce, and today’s news demonstrates that the Port of LA is prepared for the next phase of modern trade. Working together, the shipping companies and port workers have enabled the port to bounce back from last year’s slowdown and show the world its capabilities.”
With its world class infrastructure, skilled longshore labor, and superior conveyance network all set to efficiently handle the largest-class ships on a routine basis, the Port of Los Angeles is uniquely capable to accommodate ULCV-class ships. It is anticipated that the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin will return to San Pedro Bay in the first quarter of 2016 for a call at the Port of Long Beach.
CMA CGM, founded and led by Jacques R. Saadé is the world’s third largest and France’s top container shipping company. Its 470 vessels call more than 400 ports in the world, on all 5 continents. In 2014, over 12.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) were carried.
The Port of Los Angeles facilitated $290 billion in trade during 2014. Port operations and commerce facilitate more than 148,000 jobs (about one in 12) in the City of Los Angeles and 531,000 jobs (or one in 16) in the five-county Southern California region. The San Pedro Bay Ports support more than 1 million California jobs and 3.1 million nationwide.
Source: Port of Los Angeles
