The Grinch Is On board

CMA CGM Orfeo, a 1,148 foot by 140 foot container ship sailing under the flag of Germany, heads out of Mobile Bay the afternoon of OCT 12th 2025, setting course for Singapore. With a draught of 41 feet, the ship moves at 13 mph while beginning a trip expected to finish NOV 22nd. According to ship manifests dated OCT 7th, CMA CGM Orfeo’s cargo included nearly seven tons worth of punch bowls and mini shot glasses, around 119 tons worth of triple slow cookers, about 7.5 tons of pet bed covers, 220 tons of tetrachloropropene (used as a solvent in dry cleaning), plus swingsets, clutch pulleys, umbrella strollers, knives and around four and a half tons of Grinch Christmas decorations imported from China by Walmart. According to trade data from the US Census Bureau, of all the artificial Christmas trees, ornaments and other holiday decorations imported by American companies last year, 87% came from China. CMA CGM Orfeo is no small vessel; the ship is 44 feet shorter than what the Alabama State Port Authority says is the largest container ship ever to make a call at the port. Photo shot from the Orange St pier in Fairhope, roughly 6.5 miles away…