Record cargo

A total of 23,773 TEU were handled on the 24,000 TEU MSC Diletta, which completed operations and sailed from the port on 12 January 2022.

“The size of container ships has been increasing for many years and with growing demand for services into the Port of Felixstowe we are seeing ever greater container exchanges,” said Robert Ashton, operations director at the Port of Felixstowe.

“We are also seeing a trend to consolidate cargo on fewer ultra-large ships. The MSC Diletta is operated on the 2M Alliance Griffin/AE55 Far East Asia to North Europe service.

“We are very pleased with the performance on this call and to have been able to work with the 2M partners to help achieve their objectives to supply the current high demand for Far East imports to UK consumers,” he added.

The 2M Alliance consists of Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s two largest shipping lines.

Work is underway to further increase the port’s ability to handle the world’s largest container ships. Harwich Haven Authority is dredging the main approach channel to increase the depth from 14.5 metres to 16 metres and the port is also increasing the depth at its deep-water berths.