“MSC Carmelita container ship arriving at quayside, Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, UK 1 April 2026”
I mentioned in a recent blog post that there is always something going on at Felixstowe – a fairly obvious point given its stature as UK’s busiest container port,
MSC Carmelita arrived today – thankfully for me later than planned – around lunchtime which was convenient. In the picture tugs are completing the final manoeuvering of the huge ship onto the quayside. Notice the two tiny figures in orange high-vis clothing to gain an impression of the vessel’s size. The ship can carry 16,250 standard sized containers.
MSC Carmelita built in 2024 is 366 metres in length, known as a SuezMax vessel, meaning its dimensions are optimised to transit the Suez Canal. The larger tier of c 400 metre container ships are able to pass through the Suez Canal but pose significantly more risk – as shown by ‘Ever Given’ becoming jammed in 2021.
Ships such as the MSC Carmelita are designed with versatility in mind. To be able to navigate the Suez Canal efficiently when fully laden and also able to access most of the world’s deep-water ports.
I checked with several stock photo sites before leaving home and couldn’t see any images of MSC Carmelita – tomorrow there will be! I’ve already sent them to Alamy.
My set of images has been added to my 2026 gallery on Geography Photos.