New Era of Mega Vessel Calls Will Begin on U.S. West Coast

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, which was launched on Dec. 10 is scheduled to make her maiden call at APM Terminals-Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles. Oakland will host a subsequent visit.

As this year ends, the era of the mega vessel may be finally be ushered in as the largest container ship ever destined for North America calls West Coast ports.

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, which was launched on Dec. 10 is scheduled to make her maiden call at APM Terminals-Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles. The ship has a capacity of nearly 18,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), which is about a third larger than the biggest container ships that currently call at the San Pedro Bay port complex.

“We were just welcoming a generation of 13,000 TEU vessels earlier this year, and now we are seeing one 28 percent bigger,” said Philip Sanfield, a spokesman for the port.

It is anticipated that the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin will return to San Pedro Bay in the first quarter of 2016 for a call at the Port of Long Beach.

“The arrival of the Benjamin Franklin signals a new chapter in Pacific Rim trade flow and supply chain optimization,” noted Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

As North America's leading seaport by container volume and cargo value, the Port of Los Angeles facilitated $290 billion in trade during 2014.

California's third largest container gateway – the Port of Oakland – is also celebrating the arrival of the Benjamin Franklin, although it will not be fully loaded by the time it arrives at this destination, it makes viable case that other mega vessels will soon be making scheduled calls.

“Nothing this big has ever been seen in our country,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle. “There's no doubt others will follow suit and we're gratified that Oakland is one of the only ports in the U.S. ready to receive them.”

As noted in a recent report, Oakland has invested in new cranes to accommodate mega ship cargo loading and discharge. A key question, though, will be how longshore labor responds to the challenge.

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