Port of Seattle receives visit from its largest-ever containership

The following is the text of a press release issued by the Port of Seattle:
 
(SEATTLE) — The largest container ship to ever call the Port of Seattle, the 10,000-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) ZIM Djibouti was at the Port’s Terminal 18 on Thursday, August 27. The Djibouti is deployed in the Grand Alliance’s Pacific Northwest Service, which links Seattle to Singapore, Laem Chabang, Shekou, Hong Kong and Kaohsiung.

“The inclusion of such a large vessel in a string that calls Seattle demonstrates that we have the capability to handle very big ships,” said Charlie Sheldon, Managing Director of the Port of Seattle’s Seaport Division. “The capacity ZIM brings to our harbor is good news for shippers that want to take advantage of our superior intermodal connections as well as for Pacific Northwest exporters who want to reach customers in Asia.”

The Port welcomed the Djibouti with an on-board plaque presentation commemorating the ship’s first stop in Seattle.

The largest ships to previously call in Seattle, the 9,000-TEU Marit Maersk and Mette Maersk, were at the Port in the first week of June.

“We’ve welcomed new services from Maersk, CMA CGM and ZIM this summer, so we’ve had a lot of large, new vessels in our harbor,” Sheldon said. “These new services should help improve our container volume performance next year.”

By Professional Mariner Staff