FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Today, Port Everglades celebrated the arrival of the largest cargo ship to ever visit the port. However, the water depth restrictions mean that the MSC Vandya was lightly loaded, negating the efficiency and environmental benefits of the industry’s modern larger cargo vessels.
The MSC Vandya is 143,521 gross tons, 1,200.2-feet long and has the capability to carry 13,050 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEU, is the standard measurement of cargo containers.) Currently, 8,000 TEUs is the highest number of TEUs that a ship coming into Port Everglades can carry due to current water depth restrictions.
“Ships today are being built larger and more sustainable because they can carry more containers in fewer trips, thereby reducing their carbon footprint,” said Port Everglades CEO and Port Director Joseph Morris. “The MSC Vandya is a good example of why Port Everglades continues to operate at a disadvantage. Until we deepen and widen our navigational channel, ships will arrive lightly loaded or will be forced to call on another port, adding time and cost to the transportation of goods.”
For the past 30 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on the Port Everglades Navigation Improvements Project (PENIP) to deepen and widen Port Everglades navigation channels to enable the safe passage of newer, larger and more sustainable ships. The project was authorized by Congress in December 2016. The port is continuing to work with its federal and state partners to move this project forward. It remains critical to retaining global business partners and reducing delays in the supply chain that feeds, clothes and fuels our region.
The PENIP calls for deepening the main channel from 42 feet to 48 feet with two feet extra overdepth for a total of 50 feet and widening the Intracoastal Waterway by the U.S. Coast Guard Station where there is a chokepoint.
The MSC Vandya was diverted to Port Everglades as part of MSC’s Dragon Service to the Far East. During this call, approximately 1,300 containers were anticipated to be moved off the ship and empty containers loaded for transport to Asia. Port Everglades Terminals LLC (PET) is the container terminal operator handling the ship.
About Port Everglades
A global powerhouse for international trade, Port Everglades handles an average of more than one-million TEUs annually and serves as a gateway to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Located within the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood in Broward County, Florida, Port Everglades is in the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer regions. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system and the Florida East Coast Railway’s near-dock, 43-acre intermodal container transfer facility, and is closer to the Atlantic Shipping Lanes than any other Southeastern U.S. port. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion totaling approximately $3.8 billion over the next 20 years ensure that Port Everglades continues to handle future growth in container traffic. More information about Broward County’s Port Everglades is available at PortEverglades.net or by calling toll-free in the United States 1-800-421-0188 or emailing PortEvergladesCargo@broward.org.
August 11, 2026
Media Contact:
Joy Oglesby, Public Information Officer
joyoglesby@broward.org
954-468-0195
Media assets: Harbor Pilot video and photos.