OOCL Iris sets multiple records with landmark US East Coast port calls

The 16,828 TEU container vessel OOCL Iris arrived at Maher Terminals on 11 February, marking a significant milestone for the Port of New York and New Jersey as the largest ship to call at the US port.

The OOCL-operated mega boxship travelled from Asia on the 91-day roundtrip Transpacific ECX1 loop, which stops in Hong Kong, Yantian, Xiamen, and Shanghai before arriving in New York and then continuing down the east coast to Savannah and Charleston.

Named after the company’s IT system, the Iris and its sister vessels use an intelligent integrated platform for data collection, storage, and transmission, as well as an advanced energy efficiency system.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is currently working with USACE to increase the depth of the pathways to the marine terminals at Port Jersey and Newark Bay to 55 feet (an increase of five feet) to accommodate larger ships.

After two weeks, OOCL Iris also became the largest capacity vessel to ever call the Port of Savannah, arriving at Garden City Terminal on 25 February.

The Port of Savannah said it would perform more than 2,800 container moves on and off the Iris, mostly 40-foot containers equaling just over 5,000 TEUs.

In 2026, the Georgia Department of Transportation will begin construction on a project to replace existing cables on the Talmadge Bridge, lifting its height. This will allow even larger vessels to serve the US port.

In the meantime, OOCL Iris set another record at a US port, becoming the largest vessel to ever call at the Port of Charleston. The 1,204-foot-long boxship arrived at the Wando Welch Terminal on 18 February.

“SC Ports’ strategic infrastructure investments allow us to continue welcoming the largest ships calling the U.S. East Coast,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said. “The Iris calling on the Port of Charleston is evidence of our commitment to providing highly productive port service to our customers.”

SC Ports has the deepest harbor on the United States East Coast at 52 feet and this depth allows mega container ships to access the Port of Charleston. SC Ports nears completion of a year-long critical infrastructure project along the terminal’s toe wall, which will allow the berth to maintain a 54-foot depth, further supporting the 52-foot harbor depth.

SC Ports is investing nearly US$3 billion to modernize port infrastructure, expand cargo capacity and build rail infrastructure to speed goods to market.

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