Mobile handles first post-Panamax vessel

The 85,928 dwt MSC Laura has a length overall of 300 m (984 feet) beam of 40 m (131 feet) and deadweight capacity of 85,928 tonnes. APM Terminals Mobile worked the vessel with a productivity of 35 gross container moves/hour.

The port authority and its partners have invested more than US$340m in the container terminal which opened in September 2008, and in a turning basin capable of accommodating post-Panamax vessels navigating the 45-foot draft Mobile ship channel.

“We are extremely pleased with the ease and efficiency with which this vessel was handled at the Port of Mobile,” said Jimmy Lyons, the port authority’s director and chief executive. “The MSC Laura call clearly removes any doubt of our capabilities in handling larger container ships.\”