‘One big ship’: Container ship in Halifax is largest the port has seen
Posted Jan 13, 2019 04:25:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An enormous container ship docked near Point Pleasant park yesterday was the largest ship the Halifax port has ever serviced according to the Halifax Port Authority.
The CMA CGM Libra would've been hard to miss, says media relations manager Lane Farguson.
The ship was 364 metres in length—roughly the size of three football fields—and has a carrying capacity of 11,420 20 ft. container units.
Halifax has received vessels that hold 10,000 containers before, but this is the first one that holds more than 11,000.
“It's very exciting to see this size of vessel come in because there's only a handful of ports on the east coast of North America that can berth and service a vessel of this size,” said Farguson.
The closet port that could handle the size of the Libra is in New York.
Containerized cargo puts around $1.7 billion into the local economy each year according to a recent study done by the Port Authority. It also provides over 11,000 jobs, says Farguson.
Halifax's south-end Halterm container terminal is looking to expand it's pier by 2020, giving it the ability to berth and service two Libra-sized vessels at once.
