Panamax Containership at the Port of Le Havre

Panamax Containership at the Port of Le Havre

Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2003.

Terminal de l’Ocean was one container terminal in the Port of Le Havre, France, leased by the maritime shipping company MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) and by Terminaux de Normandie. The MSC Diego, built in 1999, is a typical Panamax containership with a capacity of just over 4,000 TEU. A Panamax ship can fit into the conventional Panama Canal (the expanded Panama Canal can accommodate much larger ships). The vessel is 260 meters long, 32 meters wide, has a beam of 19 meters, and has a draft of 12.5 meters. Panamax cranes are required to transship their containerized cargo, which is 13 containers wide (the limit of the above crane). It is close to the Panamax-Max specifications. This facility was closed for container operations in 2011 when new Post-Panamax container terminal facilities began operation in 2007 in a deeper draft area.