Largest Container Ship to Ever Call in the United States Due at the Port of Tacoma

Business Wire, Sept 10, 1998

TACOMA, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 1998--The REGINA MAERSK, the largest container ship ever to call at a North American port will sail into the Port of Tacoma on Thursday morning, September 17.

The vessel, which was built in 1996, can carry 6,000 containers (TEUs).

Maersk Line has been a major container shipping line customer of the Port of Tacoma since 1985. The REGINA MAERSK has five times more storage capacity than the CHARLOTTE MAERSK, the first Maersk ship that called in Tacoma.

The vessel is 1,043 feet long and 137 feet wide. It is longer than the Eiffel Tower, 433 feet longer than the Space Needle, and equal in length to 3.5 football fields. The REGINA MAERSK represents the first of a series of 15 of the world's largest containerships built at the A.P. Moller Group's shipyard -- Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. Fully laden, the vessel has a draft of 47.5 feet and requires safe navigation water depths up to 52 feet, as compared with previous generation vessels at 47feet.

The ship has the capability to hold 700 refrigerated containers, making her one of the world's largest refrigerated vessels. The vessel is a post-Panamax vessel, meaning it is too large (too wide and too long) to fit through the Panama Canal.

The vessel will call on Sitcum Waterway, which has a depth of 46-48 feet. The Port recently deepened the Sitcum Waterway, and is now working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a feasibility study to deepen the Port's Blair Waterway to 51 feet. "The REGINA MAERSK gives us a glimpse of what some of the future challenges these huge container ships will bring to the port industry," said Port of Tacoma Executive Director Andrea Riniker. "The ports that can handle these ships will be the successful ports of tomorrow. The Port of Tacoma will be one of those ports."

"The superships of the future are here today and they are reshaping the container trade," said Tommy Thomsen, president, Maersk, Inc., located in Madison, New Jersey. "World container trade is forecast to grow about 8 percent annually for the next three years and larger ships will carry an increasing share of the global container trade."

The REGINA MAERSK is deployed in Maersk's "Suez Express Service", calling the United States East Coast, Canada, Mediterranean, Middle East and Far East markets and also on one of the carrier's Asia/U.S. West Coast service lanes -- the "Transpacific sixth string," calling at the Port of Tacoma, and Long Beach, California.

A press conference, featuring Maersk Line and Port officials, is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Thursday, September 17 at the Port of Tacoma's main office building. Following the press conference, members of the media will be given tours of the vessel.

On Thursday, September 17, the general public can view the vessel from the Port's Public Observation Tower, which is located in the parking lot of the Port's main office building, just off East 11th Street.

On Friday evening, September 18, the REGINA MAERSK will leave the Port at 5:30 p.m., and travel into Commencement Bay and along Ruston Way, accompanied by Foss and Crowley tug boats. The best public viewing opportunity of the vessel will be at Marine Park near the Les Davis Fishing Pier, or at the local Ruston Way restaurants.

A special fireworks display, to commemorate the vessel's visit to Tacoma, will be launched that evening from a barge in Commencement Bay. The fireworks are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

NOTE FOR TV NEWS EDITORS: Stock video footage of the REGINA MAERSK is available.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE REGINA MAERSK

-- During the course of a year, the REGINA MAERSK will sail 7.5

times around the world. -- The ship's 1,400 TEU refrigerated container capacity is enough to

hold 12.5 million chickens, 28 million grapefruit, or 54 million Washington state apples. -- The ship is 433 feet longer than the Space Needle. -- The ship is 161 feet longer than the Titanic (the Titanic was 882

feet long). -- The vessel has a cruising speed of 25 knots (29 miles per hour). -- Each anchor on the vessel weighs about 19 tons. -- The length of her anchor chain is 2,526 feet. -- The ship has one main propeller, which is about 30 feet tall. -- If all the containers the REGINA MAERSK can hold were laid end to

end, they would stretch out for nearly 23 miles.

Visit the Port of Tacoma's web site at: www.portoftacoma.com.

    CONTACT: Port of Tacoma
              Rod Koon, 253/383-9462
              Mick Shultz, 253/383-9436
              www.portoftacoma.com
              or
              Maersk Line
              Tom Boyd, 973/514-5617
              www.maerskline.com