The massive ship is 400m long, weighs 184,000 tonnes and can carry 19,000 TEU. The cargo will include a huge range of consumer goods including food, drink, clothing, electrical goods and furniture as well as a vast array of other goods destined for the UK high street.
According to a spokesman for the Port the ship is relevant to all UK consumers; it is possible that everybody in the UK will buy something carried on this vessel.
Facts and figures:
• 400m long, the length of 8 Olympic-sized swimming pools (the Shard building = 309m high)
• Weighs more than 14,500 London buses
• Laid end-to-end the containers on board would stretch for 72 miles, the distance from Felixstowe to London, or Birmingham to Manchester.
• Fully laden the CSCL Globe could carry; 156m pairs of shoes, or 300m tablet computers, or 900m tins of beans …
The arrival of this ship represents a first for the UK and for the port of Felixstowe. It is important economically, the direct call recognises the scale of the UK economy, and economies-of-scale provide the most efficient way to get UK exports to important Asian markets.