The newly inaugurated Vizhinjam International Seaport is set to see the world’s largest container ship, “MSC IRINA,” docking in on Monday, a statement by the Adani group said.
The vessel, recognised as the world’s largest container ship with a capacity of 24,346 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), will be berthed till Tuesday.
The port is owned by the Kerala state government and operated by the Adani group under a public-private partnership with a 40-year concession agreement.
The MSC IRINA has a length of 399.9 metres and a width of 61.3 metres and is “four times longer than a standard FIFA-designated football field,” said the statement.
The ship was designed specifically to transport large volumes of containers between Asia and Europe.
This is the ship’s maiden visit to a South Asian port, and according to the statement, highlighted Vizhinjam’ s capabilities in handling ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) and its strategic importance in global shipping. Other large ships have that docked at the port include MSC Türkiye and MSC Michel Cappellini.
The MSC IRINA was launched in March 2023 and set out on its first voyage the following month. It sails under the Liberian flag and is engineered to stack containers up to 26 tiers high. The vessel is equipped with energy-saving features that contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions by up to 4 per cent, significantly lowering its carbon footprint while maintaining operational efficiency.