First “Neo-Panamax” Shipping Vessel Calls Port of Philadelphia

News From The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority

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Philadelphia, PA - On Wednesday August 3, 2016, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) announced the first of a new class of "Neo-Panamax" shipping vessel called the Port of Philadelphia to begin a new phase of transport along the Delaware River.The MSC Sophia Celeste, operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, docked at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia, which made it the largest ship ever to call the Port of Philadelphia.

​“This new service comes as a direct result of the opening of the Panama Canal Expansion,” said David Whene, President of Greenwich Terminals LLC, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.  “Coupled with the near completion of the Delaware River Deepening Project, the Port of Philadelphia is poised to capitalize on this new service line as the only direct US east coast port of call between the west coast of South America and Europe.”

​The MSC Sophia Celeste was completed in 2014 and has an on-board capacity of 8,819 TEU’s, of which 1,462 can be used with refrigerated container plugs for transporting perishable cargo.  The ship is the first to trade on MSC’s newly redesigned South America West Coast-USA-Northwest Continent service line, which makes stops in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and the Bahamas, before calling Philadelphia and then heading to Rotterdam.  Holt Logistics projects this new weekly service will not only produce more imports from South America through Philadelphia, but also increase volumes from the Midwest destined for export to Northwest Europe.

​The MSC Sofia Celeste, an 8,800 TEU, (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) ship, is first in a new class of vessels to begin service between the West Coast of South America, East Coast of North America and Northwest Europe.

To view more photos and read the full statement visit www.philaport.com

*PHOTO COURTESY OF PRPA*

"With many major improvement projects on the horizon and now this record-size vessel calling the Port, so much is occurring to help us assure that the Port of Philadelphia fulfills its vast potential. We commend our partners at Holt Logistics and the ILA for their expert handling of the Sophia Celeste, which, in addition to its record-size cargo, also inaugurates a reinvigorated Northern European service at the Port.”

PRPA Chairman and 2016 Global Business Leadership Honoree Gerard Sweeney

​​The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing and promotion of publicly owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district.  PRPA works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand, and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospective port users.  Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.

For more information, contact:
Philadelphia Regional Port Authority
Director of Communications Joseph Menta
Office: (215) 426-2600
E-mail: [email protected]