BASRA, Iraq (AP) — A Jordanian investing company says Iraq has received a large vessel for the first time in its history, thanks to rehabilitation work on its main port.

The spokesman of Aloreen For Investment Ltd., Bahjat al-Timimi, said Thursday that the Panama-flagged container ship MSC Rita docked in the southern port of Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf with a cargo of 2,641 containers. Al-Timimi added that the 325-meter long ship is the largest vessel ever to dock in Iraq.

The rehabilitation work, carried out in part by Aloreen, included boosting the port docks, increasing the depth from nine to 12 meters and enlarging the shipping channel, he added.

In a statement, the company said the improvements help shippers to Iraq who previously relied on transshipment points at other Gulf ports.