Bristol Port has welcome the joint-longest container ship it has ever handled following the launch of a new direct route connecting the city to Turkey.
The 294.09-metre long MSC Roberta arrived at Royal Portbury Docks in the early hours of Wednesday morning (November 17).
It equals the record set by the MSC Blandine, though Roberta has a slightly wider beam of 32.25m.
It follows an investment from global shipping firm MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) in the first direct service in the market between Bristol and Turkey.
The weekly service’s first shipping arrived at Bristol last Tuesday (November 9) aboard the MSC Dorine (294.05m long). The new route is aiming to provide fast import and export transit times via Bristol to and from key ports in France, Spain, Portugal and Turkey.
Bristol Port Company’s commercial manager, James Stangroom said: "The opportunity to further connect the South West region is an exciting prospect, therefore, we are delighted to welcome MSC’s unique direct service between Turkey and Bristol.
“We look forward to continuing our work with the MSC team to ensure the new route will successfully meet customer needs."
Bristol Port has confirmed that MSC Roberta was carrying household goods, furniture, wine from all over the world, food stuffs, forest products, glass bottles and chemicals on its first arrival.
Many container ships are built to around 294m in length to comply with the Panamax class, as that is the maximum size that could fit through the original locks of the Panama canal.
In March, Bristol Port missed out on a bid to become one of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's new freeports. It had been slated to created around 50,000 jobs had it been successful.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced eight new freeports for England in his Budget statement in March including one in Plymouth.
Bristol Port has remained open throughout the pandemic, delivering supplies into the city, region and wider º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
Each year, the port handles 27% of all º£½ÇÊÓƵ aviation fuel imports, six million tonnes of dry bulk goods, 25% of all animal feed imports and 600,000 motor vehicles.
Like this story? Why not sign up to get the latest South West business news straight to your inbox.
