World's biggest ships

World’s biggest ships

As shipping companies chase profits, they’re building the biggest freighters

When the world’s biggest container ship was launched at South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering yard on June 14, a new era began in the competitive container trade. The MV Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller is the first of 20 “Triple-E” class container vessels ordered for the Asia-Europe route by Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.

Everything about this leviathan is oversized: 400m long – 70m more than the height of Auckland’s Sky Tower; reaching 14.5m below the waterline; able to carry containers stacked 20 high; with a total capacity of 18,270 20-foot containers (the Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit, or TEU, the size of a 20-foot container, is the standard industry measurement).

The ship is more than four times the size of the largest container vessels that now visit New Zealand.

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The Triple-E name describes three key attributes: energy efficiency, better environmental performance and economies of scale. It is a new industry benchmark designed to handle the roller coaster container industry.

You may read full article on the “Sea Monsters- the world’s biggest ships” at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10903224

By Peter Huck for The New Zealand Herald

Read relevant articles on Maersk’s Triple-E

First Triple-E named Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller

Discovery Channel to broadcast Maersk Triple- E build

First Triple-E is now part of Maersk’s fleet

The first Triple-E has a name

Captains of Maersk Triple-E Preparing for the Vessels

Triple-E floats for the first time!

Follow Triple-E Journey

The Triple-E at a glance:

Four-hundred metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high, the 20 new vessels will be deployed on the vital Asia to Europe trade.
The Triple-E is about more than size, though. In fact the name refers to the three main purposes behind the creation – Economy of scale, Energy efficiency and Environmentally improved.
The Triple-E will emit 20% less CO2 per container moved compared to the Emma Maersk, currently the world’s largest container vessel, and 50% less than the industry average on the Asia-Europe trade lane.
The vessels will be equipped with a waste heat recovery system, saving up to 10% of main engine power. This equals the average annual electricity consumption of 5,000 European households.
Triple-E vessels travel 184 kilometres using 1 kWh of energy per ton of cargo, whereas a jumbo jet travels half a kilometre using the same amount of energy per ton of cargo.