A new record for the biggest container ship ever to dock in Israel was set after the MSC Cristina sailed into Haifa Port earlier this month.

Haifa Port, Israel’s largest, saw the 13,259-TEU vessel dock at its recently-upgraded Carmel Terminal. The ship serves Maersk and MSC’s 2M Alliance weekly service that links the ports of South Korea, China, and Singapore to Israel and the Adriatic.

Previously a Maersk ship had been the largest to dock in an Israel port when the 13,092-TEU containership Maersk Elba visited Haifa in February. The Maerk Elba, called the first Isra-max, was followed by several other Maersk megaships.

Carmel Terminal Operators have acquired new cranes on dock, capable of transporting 20 + 1 lines of containers across the ship, to prepare for the arrival of the new mega-ships. The MSC Cristina was unloaded by four STS cranes capable of moving 120 containers per hour.

Haifa port is currently the only port in Israel that can handle large vessels of that size.