Singapore Welcomes Biggest Ever Container Ship MSC Isabella

The 23,656 TEU MSC Isabella became the largest-ever containership to call at the Port of Singapore when it arrived on November  2019, as it returned from its maiden voyage.

According to multiple national and regional reports, the vessel began its journey from Qingdao on August 28, 2019, and called at a host of major European ports, such as Rotterdam and Antwerp. The Singapore call is MSC Isabella’s first stop in Asia.

At 400 meters long and 61 meters wide, the vessel is reportedly able to carry approximately 2,000 refrigerated containers. It exceeds the length of the Eifel Tower and is big enough to carry 222 million bananas and 384 million pairs of shoes.

PSA Singapore’s container terminal is MSC Isabella’s first port-of-call in Asia after sailing back from Europe. Delivered to MSC by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in August 2019, the vessel started sailing from the Qingdao port on August 28 and has now completed its first round-trip between Asia and Europe.

“Our biggest and most energy-efficient ships are being deployed on the Asia-Europe trade, which demonstrates our continued commitment to this largest and busiest trade corridor. We are delighted to welcome the first port call in Singapore by MSC Isabella from our largest Gülsün-Class of ships,” YJ Tan, Regional Managing Director for MSC Asia Regional Office in Singapore, commented.

Deployed on MSC’s Swan service, the vessel will next call at the Port of Hong Kong after leaving Singapore.