THE biggest vessel ever to dock at the container terminal in Southampton arrived yesterday afternoon.
At 350 metres long and weighing in at 111,200 gross tonnes, the Liberian flagged CMA-CGM Orfeo, pictured, is a true sea monster.
If it was stood on its end it would be taller than New York's towering Chrysler Building - and well over twice the height of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The terminal, recently renamed DP World Southampton, only unloaded a small fraction of the 9,600 containers it is capable of carrying.
It is typical of a global trend towards ever bigger vessels, as container shipping companies seek economies of scale.
The new ships have forced terminal bosses to invest in new cranes big enough to stretch across their vast decks, which can be as wide as a motorway.
Campbell Mason, managing director of DP World Southamp-ton, said: "This new vessel reflects the industry trend towards ever larger ships and with the recent commissioning of the terminal's first two super post-panamax cranes and an additional two super post-panamax cranes scheduled to arrive next summer we are well positioned to meet that growth."
The previous record holder was the CMA-CGM Fidelio, which first came to the terminal in June 2006.
