THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: MSC Turkiye, part of the world’s largest container ship series, has anchored at Vizhinjam. This marks the 257th ship to arrive at the Vizhinjam Port. Tugboats are currently guiding the ship toward the shore. MSC Turkiye arrived from Singapore and, after unloading cargo here, will continue its journey to Ghana.

Operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest shipping line, this ultra-large vessel measures 399.9 meters in length and 61.3 meters in width. It can carry up to 24,346 containers. It is also known as one of the most fuel-efficient and low carbon-emission container ships in operation. This is the first time such a massive vessel has docked at a South Asian port.

Vizhinjam Port, which began trial operations in July and commercial operations in December, has handled over 500,000 containers from 246 ships so far. On average, about 3,000 containers are moved daily. MSC’s giant vessel Claude Girardet, with a capacity of 24,116 containers, had arrived at Vizhinjam in September.

MSC operates in 155 countries with a fleet of 860 ships and is headquartered in Geneva. The company handles over 22.5 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) of cargo annually.