Editing Container ship (section)

===Largest ships===
{{Main|List of largest container ships}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 15 largest container ship classes, listed by [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU capacity]] 
! Built
! Name
! Class<br />size
! Maximum [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]]
! Sources
|-
|2023
|''[[Mediterranean Shipping Company|MSC Irina]]''
|6
|24,346
|<ref name=ajot>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ajot.com/news/msc-vessel-irina-is-the-worlds-largest-container-ship|title=MSC vessel "Irina" is the world's largest container ship|website=ajot.com|publisher=American Journal of Transportation|language=en-US|access-date=2024-04-18}}</ref>
|-
|2023
|OOCL Spain
|8
|24,188
|<ref>{{cite web |title=OOCL Kicks Off New Generation of Ultra-Large Boxships |url=https://maritime-executive.com/article/oocl-kicks-off-new-generation-of-ultra-large-boxships |website=Maritime Executive |access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>
|-
|2023
|ONE Innovation
|6
|24,136
|<ref name="MarExec" />
|-
|2023
|''[[Mediterranean Shipping Company|MSC Tessa]]''
|8
|24,116
|<ref name="InEng" />
|-
|2021
|''[[Evergreen A-class container ship|Ever Ace]]''
|6
|23,992 
|<ref name=News9>{{cite news |title=Do you know these are the largest cargo ships in the world? |url=https://www.news9live.com/knowledge/list-of-largest-cargo-ships-in-the-world-2480088 |access-date=20 April 2024 |work=news9live.com |publisher=News9 Live |date=2024-03-27}}</ref>
|-
|2020
|''[[Algeciras-class container ship|HMM Algeciras]]''
|7
|23,964 
|<ref name=News9/>
|-
|2020
|''[[Algeciras-class container ship|HMM Oslo]]''
|5
|23,792 
|<ref>{{cite web |title=Inaugural stopover of the mega container ship HMM OSLO at the Port of Le Havre |url=https://www.ajot.com/news/inaugural-stopover-of-the-mega-container-ship-hmm-oslo-at-the-port-of-le-havre |website=ajot.com |publisher=American Journal of Transportation |access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>
|-
|2019
|''[[Gülsün-class container ship|MSC Gülsün]]''
|6
|23,756 
|<ref name=News9/>
|-
|2019
|''[[Mediterranean Shipping Company|MSC Mina]]''
|10
|23,656 
|<ref>{{cite news |title=MSC MINA, one of the world's largest container ships, docks at King Abdullah Port |url=https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/msc-mina-one-of-the-worlds-largest-container-ships-docks-at-king-abdullah-port/ |access-date=20 April 2024 |work=Hellenic Shipping News}}</ref>
|-
|2020
|''[[Jacques Saadé-class container ship|CMA CGM Jacques Saadé]]''
|9
|23,112 
|<ref>{{cite news |title=World's largest gas-powered container ship rolls off Shanghai slipway, a milestone for global shipping and China's shipbuilding |url=https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3030497/worlds-largest-gas-powered-container-ship-rolls-shanghai-slipway |access-date=20 April 2024 |work=SCMP}}</ref>
|-
|2017
|''[[OOCL Hong Kong]]''
|6
|21,413 
|<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/new-largest-containership-world-oocl-hong-kong-christened/ |title=New Largest Containership In The World 'OOCL Hong Kong' Christened haul |access-date=28 July 2017 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309015811/https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/new-largest-containership-world-oocl-hong-kong-christened/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|2018
|''[[Universe-class container ship|COSCO Shipping Universe]]''
|6
|21,237
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/chinas-largest-cargo-ship-handed-over-to-owners/|title=China's largest cargo ship handed over to owners {{!}} Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide|website=www.hellenicshippingnews.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-14|archive-date=2020-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226085139/https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/chinas-largest-cargo-ship-handed-over-to-owners/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|2018
|''[[CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery]]''
|3
|20,954 
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cma-cgm.com/the-group/activities/shipping/vessel/9776418/cma-cgm-antoine-de-saint-exupery|title=CMA CGM ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY|website=www.cma-cgm.com|language=en|access-date=2018-02-02}}</ref>
|-
|2017
|''[[Madrid Mærsk]]''
|11
|20,568
|<ref>{{Cite press release|url=http://www.maersk.com/en/hardware/2017/05/ships-for-the-long-and-short-haul |title=Ships for the long (and short) haul |work=John Churchill, AP Moller-Maersk |access-date=2017-05-11 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505183559/http://www.maersk.com/en/hardware/2017/05/ships-for-the-long-and-short-haul |archive-date=2017-05-05 }}</ref>
|-
|2017
|''[[Triumph-class container ship|MOL Truth]]''
|2
|20,182
|<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mol.co.jp/en/pr/2017/17074.html|title=MOL Truth, Japan's 1st 20,000 TEU Containership, Delivered - Largest Built in Japan, to be Launched on Asia-North Europe Trade -|work=Mitsui O.S.K. Lines|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|2017
|''[[MOL Triumph]]''
|4
|20,170
|<ref name="maritime ex1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/worlds-largest-container-ship-named|title=World's Largest Container Ship Named|work=The Maritime Executive|access-date=2017-03-18}}</ref>
|-
|2019
|''[[Evergreen G-class container ship|Ever Glory]]''
|4
|20,160
|<ref>{{cite web |title=EVER GLOBE (IMO 9786841) - Container Ship |url=https://www.vesseltracking.net/ship/ever-globe-9786841 |website=Vessel Tracking |access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>
|-
|2018
|''[[Evergreen G-class container ship|Ever Goods]]''
|7
|20,124
|<ref name="MarIns">{{cite web |title=Top 22 World's Largest Container Ships in 2024 |url=https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/top-10-worlds-largest-container-ships-in-2019/ |website=Marine Insight |date=11 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>
|-
|2018
|''[[Constellation-class container ship|COSCO Shipping Taurus]]''
|5
|20,119
|<ref name="MarIns"/>
|}
{{clear}}

{{More citations needed section|paragraph|date=April 2024}}
[[Economies of scale]] have dictated an upward trend in the size of container ships in order to reduce expenses. However, there are certain limitations to the size of container ships. Primarily, these are the availability of sufficiently large main engines and the availability of a sufficient number of ports and terminals prepared and equipped to handle ultra-large container ships. Furthermore, the permissible maximum ship dimensions in some of the world's main waterways could present an upper limit in terms of vessel growth. This primarily concerns the [[Suez Canal]] and the [[Singapore Strait]].

In 2008 the South Korean shipbuilder [[STX Corporation|STX]] announced plans to construct a container ship capable of carrying {{TEU|22,000}},<ref>{{Cite web | title =STX reveals design for world's largest container ship | publisher =SeaTrade Asia | date =May 2008 | url =http://www.seatradeasia-online.com/News/2668.html | access-date =2008-09-10 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081224171410/http://www.seatradeasia-online.com/News/2668.html | archive-date =2008-12-24 }}</ref> and with a proposed length of {{convert|450|m|ft|abbr=on}} and a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web| title =STX ponders 20,000 TEU boxship | publisher =Turkish Maritime |date=May 2008 | url =http://www.turkishmaritime.com.tr/news_detail.php?id=859 | access-date =2008-09-10 }}</ref> If constructed, the container ship would become the largest seagoing vessel in the world.<ref>{{Cite news | title =New designs on the world's biggest container ships | work =Shipping Times | publisher =Shipping Times UK | date =2008-05-28 | url =http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item_10082.html | access-date =2008-09-10 | archive-date =2020-03-01 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20200301200847/http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item_10082.html | url-status =dead }}</ref>

Since even very large container ships are vessels with relatively low draft compared to large tankers and bulk carriers, there is still considerable room for vessel growth. Compared to today's largest container ships, Maersk Line's {{TEU|15,200}} ''[[Emma Mærsk]]''-type series, a {{TEU|20,000}} container ship would only be moderately larger in terms of exterior dimensions. According to a 2011 estimate, an ultra-large container ship of {{TEU|20,250}} would measure {{convert|440|x|59|m|ft|abbr=on}}, compared to {{convert|397.71|×|56.40|m|ft|abbr=on}} for the ''Emma Mærsk'' class.<ref name="emma-abs">{{csr|register=ABS|id=06151181|shipname=Emma Maersk|access-date=2011-03-13}}</ref><ref name="Alphaliner ULCS">{{Cite web |url=http://www.alphaliner.com/liner2/research_files/Alphaliner-20Kteu-ULCS.pdf |title=Alphaliner |access-date=2018-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707115945/http://www.alphaliner.com/liner2/research_files/Alphaliner-20Kteu-ULCS.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  It would have an estimated deadweight of circa 220,000 tons. While such a vessel might be near the upper limit for a Suez Canal passage, the so-called [[Malaccamax]] concept (for [[Straits of Malacca]]) does not apply for container ships, since the Malacca and Singapore Straits' [[draft limit]] of about {{convert|21|m|ft}} is still above that of any conceivable container ship design. In 2011, Maersk announced plans to build a new "[[Maersk Triple E|Triple E]]" family of container ships with a capacity of 18,000 TEU, with an emphasis on lower fuel consumption.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110218-706510.html|access-date=2011-02-22|title=NORDIC ROUNDUP: Maersk Orders 10 Container Carriers - Source - WSJ.com|date=2011-02-22|work=The Wall Street Journal}}{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
[[File:EVER GIVEN (49643352087).jpg|thumb|''[[Ever Given]]'' in March 2020 at the ECT Delta terminal in the [[Port of Rotterdam]]]]
In the present market situation, main engines will not be as much of a limiting factor for vessel growth either. The steadily rising expense of [[fuel oil]] in the early 2010s had prompted most container lines to adapt a slower, more economical voyage speed of about 21 knots, compared to earlier top speeds of 25 or more knots. Subsequently, newly built container ships can be fitted with a smaller main engine. Engine types fitted to today's ships of {{TEU|14,000}} are thus sufficiently large to propel future vessels of {{TEU|20,000}} or more. Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping line, nevertheless opted for twin engines (two smaller engines working two separate propellers), when ordering a series of ten 18,000 TEU vessels from Daewoo Shipbuilding in February 2011.<ref name="Maersk Press Release">{{cite web |url=http://www.maerskline.com/link/?page=news&path=/news/story_page/11/Triple_E |title= Maersk Line shipping containers worldwide|website=www.maerskline.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714020147/http://www.maerskline.com/link/?page=news&path=%2Fnews%2Fstory_page%2F11%2FTriple_E |archive-date=July 14, 2011}}</ref> The ships were delivered between 2013 and 2014. In 2016, some experts believed that the current largest container ships are at the optimum size, and could not economically be larger, as port facilities would be too expensive, port handling too time consuming, the number of suitable ports too low, and insurance cost too high.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wirtschaftsrat.de/wirtschaftsrat.nsf/id/wirtschaftsrat-hafen-muss-mega-containerschiffen-angepasst-werden-de |title=Hafen muss Mega-Containerschiffen angepasst werden |access-date=2016-03-14 |archive-date=2020-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229195055/https://www.wirtschaftsrat.de/wirtschaftsrat.nsf/id/wirtschaftsrat-hafen-muss-mega-containerschiffen-angepasst-werden-de |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wirtschaftsrat.de/wirtschaftsrat.nsf/id/2DFB5BAD4D2963D9C1257F6C002EF097/$file/2016-03-04%20THB_Containerschiffe.pdf |title=Obergrenzen helfen Reedern und Häfen |access-date=2016-03-14 |archive-date=2020-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315065727/https://www.wirtschaftsrat.de/wirtschaftsrat.nsf/id/2DFB5BAD4D2963D9C1257F6C002EF097/$file/2016-03-04%20THB_Containerschiffe.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In March 2017 the first ship with an official capacity over 20,000 TEUs was christened at [[Samsung Heavy Industries]]. ''MOL Triumph'' has a capacity of 20,150 TEUs. Samsung Heavy Industries was expected to deliver several ships of over 20,000 TEUs in 2017, and has orders for at least ten vessels in that size range for OOCL and MOL.<ref name="maritime ex1"/>

The world's largest container ship, ''MSC Irina'', was delivered March 9, 2023 by builder Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding to the [[Mediterranean Shipping Company]] (MSC), with a capacity of 24,346 TEUs. Measuring 399.99 metres in length and 61.3 metres in beam, the ship is one of four ordered from the builder in 2020,<ref>{{cite web |title=MSC Shatters Records With Delivery Of 24,346TEU MSC Irina |website=Ships Monthly |url= https://shipsmonthly.com/news/msc-shatters-records-with-delivery-of-24346teu-msc-irina/|publisher=Kelsey Media |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> and exceeded MSC's 24,116 TEU ''MSC Tessa'', which had been delivered that same day by the [[China State Shipbuilding Corporation]] (CSSC).<ref name="InEng">{{cite web |title=World's largest container ship MSC Tessa delivered, made in China |url=https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/ultra-large-container-msc-tessa-delivered |website=Interesting Engineering |access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> In April, ''MSC Irina'' sister ship ''MSC Loreto'', with an equal capacity of 24,346 TEU was received by MSC.<ref name=Offshore>{{cite web |title=Europe sets its gaze on the world's largest ship: A closer look at MSC Loreto |url=https://www.offshore-energy.biz/europe-sets-its-gaze-on-the-worlds-largest-ship-a-closer-look-at-msc-loreto/ |website=Offshore Energy |date=26 May 2023 |access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>

On June 2, 2023 [[Ocean Network Express]] took delivery of the ''ONE Innovation'' with a capacity of 24,136 TEUs. ''ONE Innovation'' is one of six new Megamax vessels ordered by Ocean Network Express in December 2020 to be built by a consortium of [[Imabari Shipbuilding]] and [[Japan Marine United]].<ref name=MarExec>{{Cite web |title=ONE Plans Six World's Largest Containerships |url=https://maritime-executive.com/article/one-plans-six-world-s-largest-containerships |date=December 24, 2020 |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Maritime Executive |language=en}}</ref>