World's Largest Container Ship Arrives In The UK For The First Time

The world's largest container ship has arrived in the UK for the first time and, fair play, it's pretty bloody massive.

The HMM Algeciras is the around the same size as four football pitches and is delivering a variety of goods at DP World London Gateway in Thurrock.

PA

The vessel is a whopping 400m (1,312ft) long and 61m (200ft), and is so big that experts had to use a simulator to model how it would safely reach Thurrock before it made the journey.

The Port of London Authority carried out the model simulator more than six months ago to ensure everything would go smoothly when the massive ship arrived for real.

HMM Algeciras, which was only built this year, left from China and has been to South Korea, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands before arriving at the UK, Sky reports.

It'll leave the UK on Monday, taking some goods from here to China via Singapore.

PA

PA

Peter Livey, the managing director for Britain at shipping company HMM, told Sky: "Ships of this size give us the capacity and flexibility to get our customers' goods to the right place at the right time."

He added that the ship coming to the UK for the first time was a 'major milestone'.

Ahead of its arrival, DP World UK tweeted: "This weekend DPWLG prepares for the arrival of HMM Algeciras. At 23,964 TEU she is the largest container vessel in the World.

"Vessel size has increased faster and more comprehensively than imagined."

DP World UK chief executive Ernst Schulze has praised his staff, saying their commitment has been 'critical' in ensuring London Gateway remained open throughout the coronavirus lockdown.

DP World - UK

@DPWorldUK

·Follow

This weekend DPWLG prepares for the arrival of HMM Algeciras. At 23,964 TEU she is the largest container vessel in World. Vessel size has increased faster and more comprehensively than imagined, this graphic shows just how large she is. #SmartTrade #largestvessel #HMMAlgeciras

39

Reply

Copy link

Read 3 replies

Photos show the incredible size of the boat as it passed Essex earlier today, with dozens of people flocking to the water front to get a look at the ship.

To give you an idea of how big the ship is, it's longer than the height of The Shard (that stands at 310m) and the Eiffel Tower (that is 324m tall).

Topics: UK News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19