Heralding the larger ships cascading into service from the Asia-Europe trades to the trans-Pacific, the ZIM Djibouti, the largest container ship ever to call in Tacoma, arrived Wednesday at Washington United Terminals.
With a capacity of 10,000 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), the ZIM Djibouti is 1,145 feet long and 150 feet wide. Its length stretches more than twice the diameter of the Tacoma Dome and almost twice the height of the Space Needle. It holds about 40 percent more cargo than most of the container ships that call at the Port of Tacoma.
See photos of the ship.
ZIM Integrated Shipping, based in Israel, began calling at the Port of Tacoma last July, when the Grand Alliance, a consortium of three of the world’s largest shipping lines that includes Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), Orient Overseas Container Line (Hong Kong) and NYK Line (Japan), relocated to Washington United Terminals.
Washington United Terminals is a 110-acre container terminal on the Blair Waterway. The marine terminal features four post-Panamax and two super-post-Panamax cranes capable of handling the largest ships in the world, 51-foot water depth, on-dock rail and a berth measuring 2,600 feet.
“Ships continue to get larger, and we are ready for them,” said John Wolfe, Port of Tacoma chief executive officer. “We are fortunate to have naturally deep water, and we are investing in our terminals and road and rail infrastructure to handle more cargo and the associated super-post-Panamax ships and cranes.”
The ZIM Djibouti is in the PNX trans-Pacific service. It called in Vancouver, B.C., before arriving in Tacoma. It is scheduled to head Thursday to Pusan, South Korea.
About ZIM Integrated Shipping
ZIM Integrated Shipping Ltd. is one of the leading carriers in the global container shipping industry. ZIM’s fleet comprises more than 90 modern vessels, with a total carrying capacity of more than 337,000 TEUs. ZIM is committed to providing reliable, flexible shipping solutions based on expertise gained from more than 68 years of experience. ZIM cultivates long-term partnerships with its customers, delivering a range of about 60 services adapted to meeting their specific needs. To learn more about ZIM Integrated Shipping, visit www.zim.com.
About the Port of Tacoma
The Port of Tacoma is an economic engine for South Puget Sound, with more than 43,000 family-wage jobs in Pierce County and 113,000 jobs across Washington state connected to Port activities. A major gateway to Asia and Alaska, the Port of Tacoma is among the largest container ports in North America. The Port is also a major center for bulk, breakbulk and project/heavy-lift cargoes, as well as automobiles and trucks.