The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest ship to call on the U.S., has docked at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Oakland just before the new year.
The megaship is a quarter-mile-long, bigger than the Empire State Building, according to the Daily Mail. It can hold up to 18,000 shipping containers and is the 10th largest vessel in the world.
Until now, the biggest ship to visit the port could only carry 14,000 containers, CBS San Francisco reported.
The vessel was designed to be energy efficient, according to CMA CGM, the ship's creator. The company said that the Franklin has an engine that is as powerful as 900 Ford Focus cars, and the ship's thrust is like 11 Boeing 747-400 engines. They have made space for 26 crew members, and the ship comes with its own waste recycle system and a swimming pool.
The ship won't be the last one of its size to visit the area, according to The Sacramento Bee. Officials have invested around $400 million to ensure larger vessels can make it into Oakland harbor.
"Oakland is the most efficient port on the West Coast, and ships like this are important to us," said John Driscoll, maritime director for the port of Oakland. "By welcoming the largest container ship ever to call at U.S. ports, authorities have demonstrated their willingness to be part of an ever growing shipping industry," CMA CGM American president Marc Bourdon said to media.
Global container ship capacity has been predicted to rise nearly 10 percent in a report from Moody's Investors Service, The Los Angeles Times reported. However, demand for the service was only expected to increase four percent.
The Franklin left China in early December and will be heading back there this weekend.
The vessel delivered beverages, furniture, glassware, plastics, electronics and steel products to the U.S. ports, according to CBS. On its return to Asia, it will be carrying fruit, nuts and meat, wood pulp and cereals.
The Franklin will visit the Port of Long Beach in February and may also call at the Port of Seattle.
