CMA CGA Argentina – Courtesy: Vesselfinder.com
Florida is home to 14 seaports throughout the state, from as far north as Fernandina Beach to as south as Key West and as west as Pensacola to as east as West Palm Beach.
There is no shortage of ports in the Sunshine State, and thanks to its strategic placement on the map and proximity to the center of the Earth, it is also a traffic-heavy location for cruise and cargo ships.
Today, PortMiami set a new record as it welcomed the largest container ship to call at a Florida port.
The CMA CGM Argentina arrived around 9 a.m. this morning from Georgia after an overnight trip from the Port of Savannah.
Fast Facts about the vessel
- Was built in 2019 and is sailing under the flag of Malta
- Can hold roughly 15,000 20-foot cargo containers (15,000 TEU) or 300,000 feet worth of cargo if you stack them end-to-end
- Spans nearly three-football fields in length
The news is significant for the state because it signifies a potential start for more large cargo ships like the Argentina to use PortMiami and other Florida seaports as a hub for shipments throughout their shipping route.
Florida is not necessarily known for its cargo shipping capabilities when compared to its rival seaports in California, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, and Texas, but this is a sign that points to growth for the state.
PortMiami has undergone significant infrastructure changes over the past decade to accommodate ships of this size at its seaport. A slew of changes such as dredging and widening of the channels were among the biggest improvements made as a result of boosted funding into the port.
Once it departs from Miami, the ship will make its way through the busy and famous meme-centric Suez Canal, that recently grabbed world news headlines after a similarly sized cargo ship was lodged between the Egyptian canal for 6 days, 3 hours, and 38 minutes, causing an estimated $59 billion in economic losses, before arriving at its final stop in the world’s busiest seaport in Shanghai, China.
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