The Boston Port welcomed its biggest container ship at the Conley Container Terminal early today.
The first ship to arrive today is Evergreen’s Ever Fortune. The large ship is estimated to be the size of three football fields and about 160 feet wide. It can carry double the amount of consumer products – like furniture, footwear, and even wine in comparison to previous ships.
This new massive container is expected to ease the supply chain operations at the Boston port that have been suffering with lack of container shipments.
Supply Chain issues have been impacting a multitude of businesses since last year. In 2020, there were more than 268,000 containers in and out of the port but in 2021 it dropped to 248,000 when most of the economy opened back up.
Earlier in a interview with NBC in December last year Port Director Mike Meyren had discussed the discrepancies brought by the shipment issues.
“The magnitude of it and then the duration. We’re going into a year of the supply chain being extremely disrupted. The longer it goes the longer it will take to dig out of it,” said Meyren.
This container was part of an $850 million dollar investment to modernize and expand Conley Terminal, as well as dredge and deepen Boston Harbor. The massive cranes installed in October at the Terminal are now able to accommodate larger ships that can carry double the cargo.
This container will help connect Boston with ports in East Asia through the Panama Canal. It will dock at Berth 10 of the terminal, and hopefully help ease some supply chain issues.
