MSC Sofia Celeste, an 8,800 TEU vessel operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), docked at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia for the first time on August 3, becoming the first Neopanamax ship to call this port.
Completed in 2014, the MSC Sofia Celeste is the first to trade on MSC’s redesigned service between West Coast of South America, East Coast of North America and Northwest Europe, which comes as a direct result of the opening of the Expanded Panama Canal.
The service includes stops in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and the Bahamas, before calling Philadelphia and heading to Rotterdam.
The 110,039 dwt vessel features a length of 299.95 meters and a width of 48.22 meters.
The Port of Philadelphia is the only direct US east coast port of call between the West Coast of South America and Europe, according to the port authority.