New world record set by APM Terminals Pier 400

18,465 container moves handled on a single ship, the equivalent of 34,263 TEU.

APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles set a new world record for the terminal and the Port of Los Angeles on June 18, 2020, handling 18,465 container moves on the MSC Isabella in 6 days, using 12 shifts of labor with a productivity level of 128.2 berth moves per hour and 30 cranes moves per hour.

Container moves are described simply as a crane lift from or to a cargo vessel using a quay crane. Container sizes in this case vary from 20’, 40’, and 45’. In the case of 40’, and 45’ containers, they are registered as single crane lifts. However 20’ containers are generally “twin lifts” where two containers are lifted by the quay crane at the same time.

The 23,656 TEU, MSC Isabella is named for the eldest daughter of MSC USA President & CEO Fabio Santucci and is deployed on the Pearl (TP6) string, operating in the 2M Alliance by MSC and Maersk.  One of the largest ships in the world, the MSC Isabella is part of a new class of 23,000+ TEU sustainable container ships recently added to the MSC global shipping network. MSC Isabella’s arrival in Los Angeles marks its first time calling at a Western Hemisphere container port. The vessel is one of the new, energy efficient ships from MSC’s Gulsun-class container vessels with a low carbon footprint – and whose length exceeds the Eiffel Tower and can carry the equivalent of 384 million pairs of shoes.

Steven Trombley, Managing Director of APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles commented “We’re very proud of the team effort in setting this new record at Pier 400 between the crew of the MSC Isabella, ILWU Locals 13, 64, 94, our Pier 400 Ops Team and the Port of Los Angeles in helping us achieve this new milestone.” The Pier 400 operations team created extra yard space to handle the 18,465 container moves and carefully coordinated a comprehensive terminal strategy.

The Pearl (TP6) is the premier main line service for Maersk and MSC from Far East Asia to the US West Coast.

APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles has held numerous records including:

• Establishing a new single vessel cargo operations record during the call of the 13,600 TEU capacity Maersk Evora, with a combined total of 24,846 TEUs loaded and discharged over a 128-hour period. 
  
• APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles was the first container terminal in North America to receive a vessel of 18,000 TEU capacity, when the 18,000 TEU capacity CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin became the largest container ship ever to call a North American port on December 26th, 2015. During that call, 11,200 containers were handled during 56 hours of port operations.  
  

APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles is the largest privately-operated container terminal in North America at 484 acres, handling 2.5 million TEU in 2019.