Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has deployed one of its largest container ships, MSC Mia, to address the shortage of containers on various seaborne routes. The vessel is currently en route to the port of Hong Kong.
The 23,756 TEU vessel was deployed since cargo volumes from China to Europe and America declined due to the COVID-19 shutdown. At present, there are insufficient container equipments in Europe and America to accommodate exports.
Loaded inbound containers at Long Beach dropped by 17.9pc to 248,592 TEUs in Feb 2020 from 302,865 TEUs in Feb 2019. Loaded outbound containers in Feb 2020 were 125,559 TEUs, up by 19.3pc from 105,287 TEU in Feb 2019. Empty containers declined by 12.8pc to 164,277 TEUs from 188,465 TEUs, according to the data released by The Port of Long Beach.