The world’s joint-largest cargo ship has set sail from the UK after its first visit.

The 1,300ft (400-metre) MSC Loreto vessel is capable of holding 24,346 standard containers, which is currently the record number.

MSC Loreto at the Port of Felixstowe
A man in a kayak is dwarfed by MSC Loreto (Joe Giddens/PA)
MSC Loreto at the Port of Felixstowe
The vessel is capable of holding 24,346 standard containers (Joe Giddens/PA)

It shares this title with its sister vessel, the MSC Irina.

MSC Loreto arrived at the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, the biggest and busiest container port in Britain, in the early hours of Tuesday.

MSC Loreto at the Port of Felixstowe
MSC Loreto had been docked at Felixstowe since Tuesday (Joe Giddens/PA)
MSC Loreto at the Port of Felixstowe
It shares the largest container ship title with its sister vessel, the MSC Irina (Joe Giddens/PA)

It began to move from the dock just after 5am on Friday after thousands of containers were exchanged.

The vessel, which is operated by the Swiss-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company, arrived in the UK from Rotterdam.

It started its maiden voyage from Ningbo in China in April.