The 16,600 TEU boxship MSC Elenoire has become the deepest draught container vessel to call in the United Kingdom.
Operated by the world’s largest container shipping company MSC, the vessel arrived at the Port of Felixstowe from Malaysia’s port of Tanjung Pelapas with a draught of 17.1 metres.
The depth of the approach channel to Felixstowe was increased by Harwich Haven Authority from 14.5 metres to 16 metres in 2023, making it the only container port in the UK capable of handling 17m vessel calls. The depths at the port’s Berths 8 & 9 were increased from 16 to 18 metres at the same time. In total, Felixstowe has nine container berths, four of which can accommodate 24,000 TEU mega-max vessels.
MSC Elenoire is deployed on the 2M Griffin service which calls at Tanjung Pelepas, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Tanger Med, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen and Yantian.