Ultra-large container vessel MSC Claude Girardet docks at Vizjhinjam

MSC Claude Girardet, the largest container vessel to visit India, docks at Vizhinjan international seaport.

MSC Claude Girardet, an ultra-large container vessel (ULCV) of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), docked at the Vizhinjan international seaport here on Friday.

The 399.99-metre-long, 61.5-metre-broad vessel with a container capacity of 24,116 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) is the largest container vessel to visit India. It is also billed as the largest to call at south Asian ports, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office said on Friday.

The vessel, which arrived from Malaysia, will return after container handling operations. The Vizhinjam port, the largest mother port in the country, has the capacity to handle ULCVs. The arrival of MSC Claude Girardet signals a major step forward in Kerala’s development trajectory, Mr. Vijayan said.