Giant Container Ship Docks at Port of Long Beach

The largest container ship ever to dock in North America arrived at the Port of Long Beach on Friday, the port said.

The MSC Fabiola, which measures the length of four football fields and can carry 12,500 container units, is making its maiden voyage in the trans-Pacific trade, the port said in a statement.

The ship, which came from the Port of Yantian in China, previously served Asia-to-Europe trade routes.

The Port of Long Beach said the MSC Fabiola is the first of what is expected to be a string of larger container ships to be deployed in Pacific Rim routes.

The large container ships currently serving Asia and North America can typically carry about 8,000 container units, the port said.