Trade Links

Southampton is a maritime city and its port activity is still its lifeblood, even though the pattern of shipping has changed.
And so has the mode. Giant container ships like the 99,500 deadweight tons NYK Oceanus were unheard of when I first came to the city. The ships that made the news in those days were the mighty transatlantic liners like the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, the France and the United States. Oh yes, and a number of others.
The ships carrying cargo of the time were much less impressive than the sheer size of today’s container ships. The NYK Oceanus can carry over 9,000 standard containers.
Today she was loading containers when we caught up with her for today’s Blipfoto at Southampton’s Container Terminal, two hours before she departed en route for the French port of Le Havre.  From there she will head through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, heading for the Far East and due at Singapore in 28 days’ time.  Her full current voyage from the Japanese port of Kobe to Europe began in early February. Her first port of call in Europe was at Rotterdam nine days ago.  Her schedule should see her back at Kobe , 78 days after she left. 

These ships are regular callers at Southampton, and NYK, based in Tokyo, is one of the biggest shipping companies in the world.