Biggest ship to date traverses the Panama Canal
The container ship COSCO Development has set a record as the biggest vessel to date to cross the expanded Panama Canal, which has seen a steady increase in shipping traffic since its inauguration in June last year.
Steady rise
Workers look at the container ship COSCO Development as it becomes the largest vessel in dimension and capacity to transit the Expanded Panama Canal at Agua Clara locks, on the outskirts of Colon City in Panama. The expanded canal was inaugurated in June 2016. Since its opening, the canal has seen a steady increase in shipping traffic.
A megaship
The ship has a capacity of over 13,000 standard 20 foot-long metal containers, or TEUs. The vessel, which measures 366 meters in length and 48.2 meters in width, was sailing from Asia and is soon set to become the largest ship to arrive on the US East Coast when it calls at several ports there next week.
Major gateway
The expanded canal - through which 6 percent of global trade passes - connects a total of 140 maritime routes and 1,700 ports across the world. The cost of the waterway's expansion ultimately will surpass the $5.25 billion originally projected. A total of 15 new shipping services have shifted their activities to profit from the new route.
Wide-ranging traffic
Container ships account for about 43 percent of traffic through the new locks, followed by LPG and LNG carriers, which represent around 29.1 and 8.3 percent, respectively. Other segments such as bulk carriers, tankers and car carriers have also sailed through the the new locks.
Huge capacity
Panama Canal Authority administrator Jorge Luis Quijano was quoted as saying that if all the containers aboard the Hong Kong-flagged ship were laid end to end, the resulting chain would measure about 80 kilometers (50 miles).