KARACHI: Pakistan’s Hutchison Ports terminal in Karachi has received the largest container ship in the country’s history, a 400-meter-long vessel operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) with a capacity for more than 24,000 containers, in a move officials say underscores growing global confidence in Pakistan’s maritime and logistics potential.
The arrival of the MSC Micol, one of the world’s most advanced container ships, marks a major milestone for Pakistan’s shipping industry, which has long lagged behind regional competitors such as India and the United Arab Emirates in handling ultra-large vessels.
Hutchison Ports Pakistan, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports group and the country’s only deep-water terminal, said the berthing of the MSC Micol demonstrates that Pakistan now has the infrastructure to accommodate next-generation vessels that dominate global trade routes between Asia and Europe.
“Hutchison Ports Pakistan, the country’s only deep-water container terminal, has berthed the largest vessel in the nation’s history,” the company said in a statement. “MSC Micol, a next-generation container ship measuring 400 meters in length with a capacity of 24,070 TEUs, is among the world’s most advanced vessels and the largest ever to call at a Pakistani port, marking a historic milestone for Pakistan’s maritime industry.”
