CMA CGM Marco Polo Largest Vessel to Call in Port of Philadelphia’s 300-Year History

CMA CGM Marco Polo Makes History as the Largest Vessel to Call The Port of Philadelphia. Packer Avenue Marine Terminal – Friday, March 8. 2024.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 8, 2024); UPDATED 3/11/24 – The Philadelphia Port community is buzzing with excitement as the largest vessel to ever call the Port was welcomed at PhilaPort’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal (PAMT). The M/V CMA CGM Marco Polo, spanning 1,300 feet and boasting a capacity of 16,020 containers, arrived today at noon welcomed by a water canon shower by the Philadelphia Fire Department’s Marine Unit. The owners of the vessel are the French shipping company, CMA CGM, the third largest shipping company in the world. CMA CGM’S “NAMEX” service originates in Yantian, China, continuing through Vietnam, Malaysia, Siri Lanka, and Morocco, before heading to the U.S. East Coast.

“This vessel is the manifestation of years of hard work preparing for this newer class of vessels,” said Jeff Theobald, Executive Director and CEO of PhilaPort. “It has always been our goal to be able to handle these vessels which have become the workhorse of maritime trade around the world”.

Comparing the vessel size relative to Philadelphia, the Marco Polo is:

• 180-feet longer than Philadelphia’s tallest building, the Comcast Technology Center is tall. (1,120 feet)
• The length would span 2.6 Philadelphia city blocks.
• Is longer than four football fields.

This class of vessel takes advantage of economies of scale. The cost of shipping containers on this ship is more economical, the larger vessels have better fuel efficiency. “We are thrilled to finally bring a vessel of this size up the Delaware River,” said Captain David Cuff, President of the Pilots Association for the Bay and River Delaware. “We always knew that we could pilot this size of ship up the Delaware River – safety was and is the highest priority. To be sure it could transit safely, a dozen of our most experienced pilots spent valuable hours training in the simulator at MITAGS (Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies).

The new service will bring consumer goods and cold cargoes from Southeast Asia and fruit from Morocco. Typically, food products valued at over $5 billion move up the Delaware River per year. The new service will provide substantial export opportunities as well.

“This vessel’s arrival in Philadelphia will be noticed by shippers and shipping executives all over the world,” said Eric Holt, Chief Commercial Officer of Holt Logistics. “It represents the next great chapter of the Port.”

The Port of Philadelphia has experienced a container growth of 74 percent since 2015. Vessels like the M/V CMA  CGM Marco Polo can generate up to 565 direct and indirect jobs and $5 million in state and local taxes. PhilaPort is one of the most important economic engines in Southeast Pennsylvania, generating approximately 12,020 direct and indirect jobs.

See CMA CGM Marco Polo arrival below.