KARACHI: A 400-meter mega container ship named in honor of Türkiye docked at Pakistan’s Karachi Port, authorities said on Saturday, as the country’s largest port handled more than 171,000 metric tons of cargo in 24 hours amid sustained maritime trade activity.
MSC Türkiye, named in 2023, is one of the world’s largest vessels of its kind, with capacity for more than 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
Around 1,600 container movements were planned during its Karachi call, according to the Karachi Port Trust (KPT).
The arrival of the ship comes as Pakistan seeks to improve its maritime infrastructure and expand the role of its ports in international trade, with Karachi handling the bulk of the country’s seaborne commerce.
“Another ultra-large container vessel has arrived at Karachi Port, marking yet another demonstration of the Karachi Port’s capability to safely and efficiently handle the world’s largest ships,” KPT said in a statement.
The port handled 171,325 metric tons of cargo between 7 a.m. on Friday and the same time on Saturday, including 90,452 tons of imports and 80,873 tons of exports, according to a separate KPT statement.
Of the total, 144,425 tons were dry cargo and 26,900 tons liquid cargo, while the cargo mix included 91,827 tons of containerized goods, 42,564 tons of clinker and 9,758 tons of soybean seeds.
Nineteen ships remained berthed at Karachi Port during the 24-hour period, while four vessels sailed and six were outside port limits awaiting further operations, KPT said.
Another 18 vessels, including container ships, oil tankers, rice carriers and general cargo vessels, were scheduled to arrive between Aug. 29 and Aug. 30, the statement added.
MSC Türkiye is operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company and is Liberia-flagged. The vessel was built in China and named to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye.
