On Saturday, the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin arrived at the Port of Los Angeles. The massive blue ship is 1,300 feet in length, 177 feet in width and 197 feet in height.
The ship is able to carry up to an equivalent of 18,000 of the twenty-foot containers or TEUs that are the standard volume containers.
This is the largest ever container ship that has docked at a port in North America. Its length is longer than the height of the Empire State Building, wider than a standard football field and its height is equal to a 20-story building.
The ship, said one local Councilman can impact the economy in the area in a measureable way.
The ship also offers the lowest emissions of carbon dioxide per kilometer and per container at just 37 grams, and has met over 2025 emissions standards.
The mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti called the arrival of the ship a capping off of a remarkable year for Los Angeles that saw numbers that were record breaking for visitors and travelers at the airport as well as big numbers from the port.
Over one million jobs are able to be traced back to the Los Angeles Port, said Garcetti. Across the U.S., one in 200 jobs comes from the port while when combined with the Long Beach Port, the region represents over 40% of all the goods that reach the U.S. via the sea.
Without massive dredging that created a channel that was deeper, the building of a rail system on the dock, taller cranes as well as skilled workers, the port would not have been able to accommodate the ship.
The leaders in the area see the arrive of the Benjamin Franklin as only the beginning of much more success at the port as they attempt to make the port the most important place of imports and exports in the U.S.
