CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin is an Explorer-class container ship built for CMA CGM. Delivered in November 2015, she is named after United States Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. She is one of the largest container cargo vessels, capable of carrying 18,000 TEU.

Benjamin Franklin arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on  December 26, 2015, marked the first time a ship of this size had been used in North America – previous routes for a ship this large were only from Asia to Northern Europe. A worldwide concern is that ports need to be able to accommodate a ship of this size when loading and unloading cargo. Benjamin Franklin is about a third larger than the biggest container ships that typically visit the deep water ports of southern California. After departing Long Beach, she traveled north along the West Coast of the United States, arriving at the Port of Oakland near San Francisco on December 31, and at the Port of Seattle on February 29, 2016. The U.S. tour was short-lived, however, as CMA CGM postponed deployment of megaships to the West Coast in May 2016, citing a lack of demand.

In regard to U.S. port infrastructure, Marc Bourdon, president of CMA CGM American operations, states that while some ports are ready, most ports would have difficulty with such a large ship, and that ports would need to be modified before permanent large-scale implementation could commence. One such necessary modification is for the terminal cranes to be able to reach containers stacked to the full capacity of 10 high.

Now you can get this large scale CGM CMA container ship model for your home or office. Our master craftsmen handcraft these nicely detailed models from scratch using her photographs, drawings, and original plan. The model is built to scale with top quality wood such as teak, mahogany with hollow superstructure and hull. She is 100% handcrafted individually using plank-on-frame construction method and are similar to the building of the actual ship. Each model requires hundreds of hours to finish and must go through a demanding quality control process before leaving the workshop. This container ship model is mounted on a solid wood base and ready to display (Hull color may vary in shade from picture).

.