The Port of Southampton welcomed its largest ship to date this week with the arrival of the 19,224 TEU ultra-large containership MSC Maya.
The MSC Maya is part of Mediterranean Shipping Company’s ‘Oscar-class’ ships, which together hold the ranks as the biggest of the new bread of mega-containerships being built by carriers to increase efficiency on the world’s busiest trade routes.
The ship called Tuesday at DP World Southampton container terminal while deployed on the Maersk/MSC 2M alliance’s ‘Swan/AE2’ service route, sailing between Asia and North Europe.
The MSC Maya and sister vessels measure in at 395.4 meters (1,297 ft) long by 59m wide and can carry a remarkable 19,224 20-foot containers, which is a few hundred more than ships of similar dimensions due to a unique container stowage configuration that includes the addition of an extra tier above deck.
MSC Maya followed the recent deliveries of sister ships MSC Oscar, MSC Oliver and MSC Zoe by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Geoje, South Korea. The company said it has a total of 19 19,000+ TEU mega-ships ordered under its current newbuild program.
DP World Southampton says it expects its next member of the Oscar-class, the new MSC Clara, later this month.