''Madrid Express'' (originally ''MSC Fabiola'') is a

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

built for the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

based Peter Döhle Schiffahrtsgesellschaft by

Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. () is one of the largest shipbuilders in the world and one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea (including Hyundai and Hanwha). Geoje (in South Gyeongsang Province) is one of the largest shipyards ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The ship was initially chartered by the

Mediterranean Shipping Company Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., branded as MSC, is an international shipping line founded by Gianluigi Aponte in Italy in 1970. The company is owned by the Aponte family with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, since 1978. It is the ...

(MSC) as the ''MSC Fabiola''. From 2019 onwards the ship was chartered to

Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company, the 5th biggest in the world. It was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd. History The company was forme ...

as the ''Madrid Express''. In 2012 the ''MSC Fabiola'' became the largest container ship to ever dock in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and the largest ship to enter the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. ''MSC Fabiola'' is the first of a series of identical sister ships. The other three are ''MSC Faustina'', ''MSC Fillippa'', and ''MSC Filomena''.

Operational history

In March 2012 the ship shifted from its initial Asia-to-Europe service to begin trans-Pacific service. On March 16, 2012, ''MSC Fabiola'' docked at the

Port of Long Beach The Port of Long Beach, administered as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land wi ...

, breaking earlier records for the largest container ship at a U.S. port, and at any North American port. At the first U.S. stop in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, the ship was too tall to fit under the Gerald Desmond Bridge and dock at MSC's own terminal, so the

Hanjin The Hanjin Group () is a South Korean chaebol. The group has various industries covered from transportation and airlines to hotels, tourism, and airport businesses, and is one of the largest chaebols in Korea. The group includes Korean Air (KA ...

terminal was used instead. Two days later, ''MSC Fabiola'' passed under the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

to become the largest ship to enter the San Francisco Bay. The ship docked at the

Port of Oakland The Port of Oakland is the port authority for the city of Oakland, California, United States. Its primary responsibilities are the operation of the Oakland Seaport and the Oakland International Airport. It also operates a commercial real est ...

. ''MSC Fabiola'' takes about 18 days to cross the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

from California to China. The presence of the ''MSC Fabiola'' at the Port of Oakland is the result of a 12-year harbor-deepening project that was largely completed in September 2009. Prior to the arrival of ''MSC Fabiola'', the Port of Oakland prepared by checking channel depth and dredging as needed. San Francisco Bay

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

trained for the visit on a simulator at the California Maritime Academy for over a year. The ship arrived drawing less than its full draft of because it held only three-quarters of a load after its stop in Long Beach.

2016 Suez Canal grounding

On April 28, 2016, ''MSC Fabiola'' ran aground at

Great Bitter Lake The Great Bitter Lake (; transliterated: ''al-Buḥayrah al-Murra al-Kubrā'') is a large saltwater lake in Egypt which is part of the Suez Canal. Before the canal was built in 1869, the Great Bitter Lake was a dry salt valley or basin. Madl, ...

in the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

after experiencing engine problems, forcing canal officials to temporarily suspend all northbound convoys and stop all southbound convoys in the canal. ''MSC Fabiola'' was refloated on April 30, resuming her southbound journey through the canal, being escorted by five

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madrid Express Container ships 2010 ships Ships built by Samsung Heavy Industries Merchant ships of Liberia