The Maersk Triple E – the largest container ship in the world

Cars are transported around the world today in huge container ships and the need to transport huge numbers of vehicles will only grow in coming years. China is one of the major facilitators of this, in terms of consumption and export and it will do a large amount to fuel the need for even bigger container ships.

The Triple E will land at five different Chinese ports including Shanghai, Ning-bo, Yantian, Xiamen and Hong Kong. In 2011 China exported 850,000 cars, but it imported 1.04 million, an increase of 28%. And these figures are likely to keep on expanding at a similar rate as more of the Chinese market is tapped.

One must also be aware that China is the tip of the ice berg, with India, Russia and even the African subcontinent becoming greater consumers of vehicles.

Mearsk is building a new container ship to manage the increase in demand for capacity, it will be called the Triple E and it will be the largest container ship in the world when it is unveiled in 2014, with a capacity to carry 18,000 20 foot containers and one of the main drivers for the project was an increase in efficiency.

Despite the fact that the Triple E will produce 70 megawatts, equal to 93,870 horsepower, it is actually a reduction of 10 megawatts (13,410 horsepower) from Maersk’s Emma vessel. The ship itself will produce 4% less emissions but can carry 2500 more containers.

The Triple E has a more bulbous bow and a bulkier hull, which can accommodate more cargo, this would normally be undesirable though due to the increased resistance from the water. The solution for this is to reduce the speed that the Triple E moves thorough the water, one of the reasons why the power output has been reduced. The Triple E will only travel at 20 knots for its journeys and its maximum is 23 knots compared to the Emma which can do 25 knots.

Each container can carry two vehicles, meaning the new ship can carry 36,000 cars more efficiently than the Emma Maersk could carry 31,000.

The Triple E will not only be the world’s largest container ship, but it will push the limits of today’s ports. At 400m in length the Triple E is at the limit of what is possible today, so that will be the next area that will need to be expanded.

The sheer scale of the container ships that transport our vehicles around the world is something to behold, but the focus is now on efficiency, in much the same way as it is in the vehicles we drive, and as the traditional markets of Europe and America have their significance eroded the these container ships will become even more important.