See photos of the CMA CGM Marco Polo call in Port of Philadelphia

The Port of Philadelphia on Friday welcomed what officials described as the largest container ship that's ever stopped at a U.S. East Coast port. The CMA CGM Marco Polo was scheduled to arrive at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia around 10:30 a.m. The vessel is 1,300 feet long, longer than three NFL football fields, and can carry more than 16,000 20-foot-long containers. Shipping company CMA CGM in January launched a service aimed at exporting fruits and vegetables from Morocco to North American ports such as Philadelphia, New York, and Norfolk. The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority said the service is expected to have an annual economic impact of more than $34 million and provide up to 600 direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area.

The Port of Philadelphia has seen increased container volume in recent years as the deepening of the Delaware River has enabled bigger ships to navigate the channel. The port has also seen hundreds of millions of dollars in federal, state, and private investment.