Savannah serves largest vessel ever, the 16,000+ TEU Marco Polo
The largest container ship to ever serve the U.S. East Coast called on the largest single container facility in North America Wednesday. As the massive 16,000-TEU vessel docked at the Port of Savannah’s Berth 9, a team of logistics professionals tackled the CMA CGM Marco Polo with seven ship-to-shore cranes and hundreds of men and women on the ground and aboard the vessel to load and unload an estimated 6,000 TEUs of cargo.
“In my seven years serving on the port authority board, it has been gratifying to see Savannah step up to the plate and increase its capacity, infrastructure and workforce to accommodate massive vessels like the Marco Polo,” said outgoing GPA Board Chairman Will McKnight, who boarded the vessel at the mouth of the Savannah River with the pilots who guided the ship along the channel. “There is a reason Garden City Terminal has become the hub for global commerce in the Southeastern U.S: 30 cranes, nearly 10,000 feet of contiguous dock space, and a 1,345-acre container yard.”