Port of Felixstowe welcomes record-breaking 'deepest ship'
The Mumbai Maersk, which arrived over the weekend, has a record draft for the port
Last updated 13th Nov 2023
The Port of Felixstowe has welcomed another record-breaking container ship, with the arrival of the deepest ever vessel to call at the Suffolk container port.
The Mumbai Maersk had a draft of 16.8m when it arrived into Felixstowe, with that increasing to 17m once it picked up more containers.
The draft is the depth at which a ship sits in the water, from the waterline to the bottom of the hull.
The visit of the Maersk comes just weeks after the deepening of some of the approach channels at Felixstowe to allow deeper draft ships to approach the berths.
Robert Ashton, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Felixstowe, said:
“There has been a steady increase in recent years in the number of the latest generation of mega-vessels serving the main shipping route into Europe.
"The Port of Felixstowe is the best located UK port for these huge ships and, working with our partners at Harwich Haven Authority, we deepened the main approach channel and Berths 8&9 to cement further that advantage.
“The deeper channel provides a level of access matched nowhere else in the country. It not only allows deeper vessels to call but also more ultra-large ships to be handled on each tide.
"With a short channel, close to the pilot station and ports of North Europe it is better for service, cutting emissions and reducing costs.”