DP World-operated Nhava Sheva (India) Gateway Terminal on Friday received a call from the 11,000 twenty-foot-equivalent unit MSC Francesca, the largest container ship ever to dock at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s biggest public container gateway.

The 2008-built ship is 363 meters (1,191 feet) long, and has been deployed in the Himalaya Express, or HEX, service between India and Europe. The weekly loop, which was earlier marketed as the ISES, is operated jointly byMediterranean Shipping Co. and Shipping Corporation of India.

“The MSC Francesca is a testament to the efforts and commitment by the port authority in improving the marine infrastructure at JN Port,” a joint statement said.

The record-setting call follows on the heels of JNPT upsizing the “l(fā)ength overall limit” for ships calling at the Nhava Sheva harbor to 370 meters (about 1,214 feet) from a previous level of 340 meters.

Officials also held a ceremony to celebrate the event with Indian Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, port chairman Anil Diggikar, Anil Singh, head of DP World Subcontinent and a number of trade and industry representatives.

“Bringing such large and modern container vessels to Indian ports will provide economies of scale to shippers, resulting in substantial savings in terms of time and money on their shipments,” Gadkari said, speaking at the event.

“This adds another step in our direction of ‘ease of doing business’ and our commitment for shipping and port led-growth for the benefit of the trade,” Diggikar said.

The Francesca call reinforces DP World’s operational prowess at Indian ports, as the Dubai-headquartered group looks to spend another $1 billion on new infrastructure projects in the country.

“NSIGT is the only terminal at JN Port to have the requisite state-of-the-art facilities to receive such modern vessels,” Anil Singh said.

NSIGT, located next to DP World’s flagship Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal officially opened last year. The new facility comprises a berth length of about 1,083 feet, a draft of 44 feet, a 68-acre storage yard, four rail-mounted quay cranes and 12 rubber-tire gantry cranes, capable of handling 800,000 TEUs annually.  

NSICT includes 1,969 feet of quay, 64 acres of yard space, eight quay cranes, three rail-mounted gantry cranes and 29 rubber-tire gantry cranes, with capacity to handle 1.2 million TEUs per year