Biggest container ship ever to visit Saint John a sign of growing opportunities, port says

Some Saint John residents may have noticed a huge ship in the harbour this week. 

The Santa Rosa, which is roughly the length of three football fields, was the largest container ship ever to visit the port.

"We had four cranes in operation at the same time, which … is very symbolic of our growth journey," said Craig Estabrooks, the CEO and president of Port Saint John.

The ship's visit on Tuesday was a long time coming, and the port has worked on being able to accommodate vessels of this size, Estabrooks said. 

Last year, a $205 million modernization project was completed at Port Saint John's west side terminals. The project included a 345-metre berth, the addition of new refrigerated towers, and the dredging of the main channel to make it deeper and wider.  

WATCH | Why bigger ships will be calling on Saint John: 

This is the biggest container ship to visit Saint John — and more are coming

5 days ago

Duration 2:07

The Santa Rosa, the biggest container ship ever to visit the Port of Saint John, is roughly the length of three football fields.

Estabrooks said the addition of two industrial cranes also made larger vessels a possibility. 

The Port Saint John team went to Quebec City last fall, said Estabrooks, to plan for the Santa Rosa's arrival and make surethe ship could be accommodated in all types of weather conditions.

Another milestone happened earlier this month, he said. A new partnership between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, called Gemini Cooperation, which has a fleet of 290 vessels, began calling on Saint John, he said. 

The Santa Rosa, owned by Maersk, was the fourth ship in the rotation to call, each bigger than the last, Estabrooks said.

"We do expect, as that partnership grows and we welcome more vessels as part of the co-operation, that they'll get even bigger."

Estabrooks said the industry has seen a trend toward larger vessels in the last 10 to 15 years, so it's important Saint john is able to handle ships of Santa Rosa's size.

Currently, the port is pursuing Trans-Pacific connections to Asia, which is something it doesn't have at the moment, he said. For journeys of that length, larger vessels are used.. 

"Being able to market ourselves as having capability with those larger vessels is going to be key to attract those new, longer journeys," Estabrooks said.