The 18,000-TEU vessels Maersk has ordered are being built for capacity as well as efficiency. By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOT The capacity of container ships has grown prodigiously in recent years. Less than a decade ago, an 8,000-TEU, or even a 6,000-TEU, vessel was referred to as a “megaship.” Today’s largest container vessels have capacities in the 15,000 TEU range. All that will be changing in a couple of years when a new class of massive container ship, with a capacity of 18,000 TEU, comes on line. But in this case, the Triple-E class vessels ordered by Maersk Line are not only being built for size; they also aim to break records for fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. Each vessel will cost $190 million. In February, Maersk Line announced it had signed a contract with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., to build ten of the world’s largest and most efficient vessels, with an option for 20 more. The ships are scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2015 and will be put in service in the Europe-Asia trades. The vessels are dubbed the Triple-E class for the three main attributes: economy of scale, energy efficient and environmentally improved. According to Maersk, the new container vessels will surpass the current industry records for fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions per container moved held by the 15,000-TEU Emma Maersk class vessels. The capacity increase built into the Triple-E class vessels was motivated by the growing importance to of the China market and particularly the growth in trade involving east and north China. “A clear trend in cargo patterns reveals the rapid growth of these markets, which will shift cargo further north,” said Mary Ann Kotlarich, a Maersk Line spokesperson. “This will lead to a change in vessel requirements and shipping patterns. The Triple-E will position Maersk Line to meet that growth in the most efficient way possible.” Maersk Line’s level of business in the China trades is a reflection of the growing importance of the Chinese economy on the global stage. In 1968, Maersk Line had only one non-containerized service connecting Asia and Europe that consisted of twelve sailings per year and carried 8,000 tons of cargo. Today, the company runs ten strings of port calls consisting of 83 vessels traveling east and west covering the Asia - Europe trade. Together, they carry 1.4 million forty-foot containers every year between the two continents. “Two-thirds of this cargo goes to and from China,” said Kotlarich. Currently, Maersk Line has the largest market share of any container shipping line in this trade, moving 18 percent of the container cargo leaving Asia for Europe and 15 percent of the container cargo traveling from Europe to Asia. “The massive 18,000 TEU capacity of the Triple-E is built for these huge volumes and will enable Maersk Line to maintain its leadership position in this key trade,” said Kotlarich. “The vessel’s dramatically improved efficiency will also help limit the environmental impact of the region’s continued economic growth.” The Triple-E vessels will touch five Chinese ports—Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian and Hong Kong. “The new vessels will be adding significant capacity to the vessel strings serving the Asia - Europe trade lanes,” said Kotlarich. The ten Triple-E class vessels are to be built by Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. in accordance with standards of the classification society known as the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). ABS develops standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of ships and marine-related facilities. A.P. Moller - Maersk has worked with Daewoo since 1996 to build a range of vessels. In addition to the ten Triple-E vessels, Daewoo is currently building 16 container vessels of 7,450 TEU for Maersk Line, the first of which will be delivered this month. With dimensions at 400 meters long, 59 meters wide, and 73 meters high, the Triple-E is larger than any vessel on the water today. Its 18,000 TEU capaci