SEATTLE — The largest cargo ship to ever sail in North America has arrived in Seattle.
- Vessel Benjamin Franklin 1,310 feet
- Carries 18,000 cargo containers
- 200 feet tall
- Docking at Port of Seattle
At 1,310 feet, the Benjamin Franklin is longer than the height of the Empire State Building, not including it's antenna spire.
[ PHOTOS: Massive cargo ship arrives in Seattle ]
It can carry 18,000 shipping containers, compared to other ships, which carry 10,000.
According to SFGate.com, the ship sailed from China by way of Los Angeles and docked at the Port of Oakland. As the ship headed to dock on Dec. 31, it cleared the Golden Gate Bridge by only 20 feet. Four tugboats helped the ship into dock.
It's 200 feet tall and nearly a quarter of a mile long, so massive that the Puget Sound Pilots, a group of elite mariners, have been training for several months to be ready to guide the ship in.
Mega container ships are a new trend in international shipping.
SFGate.com says the ship’s owner, the French company CMA CGM, is expanding trade in the Pacific and hopes to send more megaships to the West Coast.