Ship Larger Than Empire State Building to Dock on East Coast

A container ship larger than the Empire State Building will dock in New York harbor next week, and become the largest ship ever to dock on the East Coast.

The 1,300-foot Marco Polo is the length of five city blocks, the New York Daily News reported.

Marco Polo will dock at Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal on May 20 to unload consumer goods. It is only able to do so because the Port Authority deepened the New Jersey harbor in 2016 to accommodate such large cargo ships, which are becoming more commonplace in international shipping.

Another massive cargo ship made international headlines in March, when the quarter-mile long Ever Given became trapped in the Suez Canal, bringing more than 10% of all global trade to a halt, underscoring the overlooked role cargo ships play in keeping the international economy running.

Despite the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, the amount of cargo unloaded at New York and New Jersey’s seaports during the first quarter of 2021 has hit record levels, according to the Port Authority.

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smarcus@hamodia.com