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MSC Fabiola Becomes Largest Ship Ever To Enter SF Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- A cargo ship that maritime officials are calling the largest ever to enter San Francisco Bay passed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday afternoon.

The MSC Fabiola is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall and can carry more than 12,000 shipping containers. Those containers placed end-to-end would stretch more than 47 miles.

The vessel is heading north from the Port of Long Beach, and crossed under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge before mooring at the Port of Oakland.

KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:

Built in South Korea in 2010, the Fabiola is one of a new class of ultra-large container ships.

Ship watchers who miss the Fabiola's arrival can see it depart back to the Pacific early Thursday evening.

MSC Fabiola
MSC Fabiola (credit: Connie Kim/KCBS)
MSC Fabiola
MSC Fabiola (credit: Connie Kim/KCBS)
MSC Fabiola
MSC Fabiola (credit: Connie Kim/KCBS)
MSC Fabiola
MSC Fabiola (credit: Connie Kim/KCBS)
MSC Fabiola
The MSC Fabiola nears the Bay Bridge. (CBS)
MSC Fabiola
A container ship from the Mediterranean Shipping Company passes by the Marina District February 2, 2009 in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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