The Port of Felixstowe has broken its own record for the number of containers handled on a single ship.

The record was set after a total of 27,961 standard-sized containers were handled on the MSC Amelia, which sailed from the port on March 8.

This is the third time in two months that the port has broken this record, with 25,852 containers handled on the Moscow Maersk the previous week, and 23,773 on the MSC Diletta. two months ago.

All three of these vessels operate on the 2M Alliance Griffin/AE55 Far East Asia to North Europe service.

Commenting on the latest record, Robert Ashton, chief operating officer at the Port of Felixstowe, said: “The increasing size of container ships places great demand on port resources and we are pleased with the way we have responded to this challenge.

"We are continuing to invest in the people, infrastructure, systems and equipment needed to service the growing number of ultra-large container ships on the world’s major trades as well as the increasing volume of containers on each ship.

“The logistics of such an operation are immense and we will continue to work closely with the 2M partners, Maersk Line and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to help achieve their objectives to supply the current high demand for Far East imports to UK consumers.”

The Port of Felixstowe is currently carrying out work to increase its ability to handle the world's largest container ships, including by having Harwich Haven Authority dredge the main approach channel.

This is intended to increase the channel depth from 14.5 to 16 metres and is expected to be completed in 2023.

In addition, a number of the port berths are being modified to fit larger ships.

Work has already been completed dredging Berth 7 to 16.5 metres, with plans to do the same to Berth 6, while Berths 8 and 9 will be increased to 18 metres depth alongside.