Editing Container ship (section)

==Fleet characteristics==
{| class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 85%;"
|+<big>'''Largest container ship operators, 2022'''</big><ref>{{Cite web|title=PublicTop100|url=https://alphaliner.axsmarine.com/PublicTop100/|access-date=2021-04-14|website=alphaliner.axsmarine.com}}</ref>
|-
|
# [[Mediterranean Shipping Company|MSC]] – Switzerland / Italy
# [[Maersk Line]] – Denmark
# [[CMA CGM]] – France
# [[COSCO Shipping Lines|COSCO]] – China
# [[Hapag-Lloyd]] – Germany
# [[Evergreen Marine Corporation|Evergreen]] – Taiwan
# [[Ocean Network Express|ONE]] – Japan
# [[HMM (company)|HMM]]  – South Korea
# [[Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation|Yang Ming]] – Taiwan
# [[ZIM (shipping company)|ZIM]] – Israel
|}
{{bar box
|title=Fleet capacity, April 02, 2023<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alphaliner.axsmarine.com/PublicTop100/|title=PublicTop100|website=alphaliner.axsmarine.com|access-date=2022-04-14}}</ref>
|titlebar=#DDD
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|right2=TEU
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{{bar pixel|MSC|gold|48|32709}}
{{bar pixel|Maersk|lightblue|41|85693}}
{{bar pixel|CMA CGM|darkblue|34|09776}}
{{bar pixel|COSCO|dodgerblue|28|86908}}
{{bar pixel|Hapag-Lloyd|darkorange|17|98866}}
{{bar pixel|Evergreen|darkgreen|16|68555}}
{{bar pixel|ONE|deeppink|15|34426}}
{{bar pixel|HMM|red|8|16365}}
{{bar pixel|Yang Ming|gray|7|05614}}
{{bar pixel|ZIM|brown|5|66935}}
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{{bar box
|title=Worldwide capacity<ref>{{cite news|title=World container-fleet capacity has grown by 50 percent since 2008|url=http://www.progressive-economy.org/trade_facts/world-container-fleet-capacity-has-grown-by-50-percent-since-2008/|access-date=30 June 2015|work=Progressive Economy|date=12 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/198391/number-of-teus-of-the-global-containership-fleet/|title=Global containership fleet - TEUs 2017 {{!}} Statistic|website=Statista|language=en|access-date=2018-02-23}}</ref>
|titlebar=#DDD
|left1=year
|right2=million TEU
|float=right
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|bars=
{{bar pixel|1990|red|1.5}}
{{bar pixel|2000|green|4.3}}
{{bar pixel|2008|blue|10.6}}
{{bar pixel|2012|orange|15.4}}
{{bar pixel|2017|magenta|20.3}}
}}

{{as of|2010}}, container ships made up 13.3% of the world's fleet in terms of deadweight tonnage.<ref name="unctad30">UNCTAD 2010, p. 30.</ref>  The world's total of container ship deadweight tonnage has increased from {{DWT|11 million}} in 1980 to {{DWT|169.0 million}} in 2010.<ref name="unctad31">UNCTAD 2010, p. 31.</ref>  The combined deadweight tonnage of container ships and general cargo ships, which also often carry containers, represents 21.8% of the world's fleet.<ref name="unctad19">UNCTAD 2006, p. 19.</ref>

{{As of|2009}}, the average age of container ships worldwide was 10.6 years, making them the youngest general vessel type, followed by [[bulk carrier]]s at 16.6 years, [[oil tanker]]s at 17 years, general cargo ships at 24.6 years, and others at 25.3 years.<ref name="unctad34">UNCTAD 2010, p. 34.</ref>

Most of the world's carrying capacity in fully cellular container ships is in the [[cargo liner|liner service]], where ships trade on scheduled routes.<ref name="unctad32" /><ref name="unctad85">UNCTAD, 2010, pp. 85.</ref>  As of January 2010, the top 20 liner companies controlled 67.5% of the world's fully cellular container capacity, with 2,673 vessels of an average capacity of 3,774 TEU.<ref name="unctad33" />  The remaining 6,862 fully cellular ships have an average capacity of 709 TEU each.<ref name="unctad33"/>

The vast majority of the capacity of fully cellular container ships used in the liner trade is owned by German [[shipowner]]s, with approximately 75% owned by Hamburg brokers.<ref name="unctad85"/>  It is a common practice for the large container lines to supplement their own ships with chartered-in ships, for example in 2009, 48.9% of the tonnage of the top 20 liner companies was chartered-in in this manner.<ref name="unctad85"/>

===Flag states===
International law requires that every merchant ship be registered in a country, called its [[flag state]].<ref name="icftu7">ICFTU et al., 2002, p. 7.</ref>  A ship's flag state exercises regulatory control over the vessel and is required to inspect it regularly, certify the ship's equipment and crew, and issue safety and pollution prevention documents.  {{as of|2006}}, the United States [[Bureau of Transportation Statistics]] count 2,837&nbsp;container ships of {{DWT|10,000|long|disp=long}} or greater worldwide.<ref name="bts">Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2007, p. 80.</ref> [[Panama]] was the world's largest [[flag state]] for container ships, with 541 of the vessels in its registry.<ref name="bts"/>  Seven other flag states had more than 100 registered container ships: [[Liberia]] (415), [[Germany]] (248), [[Singapore]] (177), [[Cyprus]] (139), the [[Marshall Islands]] (118) and the [[United Kingdom]] (104).<ref name="bts"/>  The Panamanian, Liberian, and Marshallese flags are open registries and considered by the [[International Transport Workers' Federation]] to be [[flags of convenience]].<ref name="itf-list">{{cite web|url=http://www.itfglobal.org/flags-convenience/flags-convenien-183.cfm |title=FOC Countries |publisher=International Transport Workers' Federation |date=2005-06-06 |access-date=2010-07-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718210353/http://www.itfglobal.org/flags-convenience/flags-convenien-183.cfm |archive-date=2010-07-18 }}</ref>  By way of comparison, traditional maritime nations such as the United States and Japan only had 75 and 11 registered container ships, respectively.<ref name="bts"/>

===Vessel purchases===
{{update section|date=January 2018}}
[[File:Container-ship-prices.svg|thumb|right|300px]]

In recent years, oversupply of container ship capacity has caused prices for new and used ships to fall.  From 2008 to 2009, new container ship prices dropped by 19–33%, while prices for 10-year-old container ships dropped by 47–69%.<ref name="unctad5357">UNCTAD 2010, p. 53, 57.</ref>  In March 2010, the average price for a geared 500-TEU container ship was $10 million, while gearless ships of 6,500 and 12,000 TEU averaged prices of $74 million and $105 million respectively.<ref name="unctad56">UNCTAD 2010, p. 56.</ref>  At the same time, secondhand prices for 10-year-old geared container ships of 500-, 2,500-, and 3,500-TEU capacity averaged prices of $4 million, $15 million, and $18 million respectively.<ref name="unctad57">UNCTAD 2010, p. 57.</ref>

In 2009, 11,669,000 gross tons of newly built container ships were delivered.<ref name="unctad50">UNCTAD 2010, p. 50.</ref>  Over 85% of this new capacity was built in the Republic of Korea, China, and Japan, with Korea accounting for over 57% of the world's total alone.<ref name="unctad50"/>  New container ships accounted for 15% of the total new tonnage that year, behind bulk carriers at 28.9% and oil tankers at 22.6%.<ref name="unctad50"/>

===Scrapping===
Most ships are removed from the fleet through a process known as [[ship breaking|scrapping]].<ref name="ilo-breaking">{{cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/shpbreak/index.htm |title=Is there a decent way to break up ships? |access-date=2007-05-29 |last=Bailey |first=Paul J. |year=2000 |work=Sectoral Activities Programme |publisher=International Labour Organization }}</ref>  Scrapping is rare for ships under 18 years old and common for those over 40 years in age.<ref name="unctad35">UNCTAD, 2010, p. 35.</ref>  Ship-owners and buyers negotiate scrap prices based on factors such as the ship's empty weight (called light ton displacement or LTD) and prices in the scrap metal market.<ref name="mtcp">{{cite book | author = Maritime Transport Coordination Platform | title = Tonnage Measurement Study | chapter-url = http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/studies/doc/2006_11_tonnage_measurement_study.pdf | access-date = 2007-05-29 | series = MTCP Work Package 2.1, Quality and Efficiency | date = November 2006 | location = Bremen/Brussels | pages = 3.3 | chapter = 3: The London Tonnage Convention | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070330134300/http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/studies/doc/2006_11_tonnage_measurement_study.pdf | archive-date = 2007-03-30 }}</ref>  Scrapping rates are volatile, the price per light ton displacement has swung from a high of $650 per LTD in mid-2008 to $200 per LTD in early 2009, before building to $400 per LTD in March 2010.<ref name="unctad51">UNCTAD 2010, p. 51.</ref>  {{As of|2009}}, over 96% of the world's scrapping activity takes place in China, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.<ref name="unctad53">UNCTAD 2010, p. 53.</ref>

The global economic downturn of 2008–2009 resulted in more ships than usual being sold for scrap.<ref name="unctad51"/>  In 2009, 364,300 TEU worth of container ship capacity was scrapped, up from 99,900 TEU in 2008.<ref name="unctad51"/>  Container ships accounted for 22.6% of the total gross tonnage of ships scrapped that year.<ref name="unctad52">UNCTAD 2010, p. 52.</ref>  Despite the surge, the capacity removed from the fleet only accounted for 3% of the world's container ship capacity.<ref name="unctad51"/>  The average age of container ships scrapped in 2009 was 27.0 years.<ref name="unctad52"/>

===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>

===Freight market===
The act of hiring a ship to carry cargo is called chartering. Outside special [[bulk cargo]] markets, ships are hired by three types of [[Chartering (shipping)|charter]] agreements: the [[voyage charter]], the time charter, and the [[bareboat charter]].<ref name="aramess233">Aragon & Messer, 2001, p. 233.</ref>  In a voyage charter, the charterer rents the vessel from the loading port to the discharge port.<ref name="hub212">Huber 2001, p. 212.</ref>  In a time charter, the vessel is hired for a set period of time, to perform voyages as the charterer directs.<ref name="hub212"/>  In a bareboat charter, the charterer acts as the ship's operator and manager, taking on responsibilities such as providing the crew and maintaining the vessel.<ref name="hub2123">Huber 2001, pp. 212–213.</ref>  The completed chartering contract is known as a [[charter party]].<ref name="hub213">Huber 2001, p. 213.</ref>

The [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] [UNCTAD], tracks in its 2010 ''Review of Maritime Trade''  two aspects of container shipping prices:<ref name="unctad8589">UNCTAD, 2010, pp. 85–89.</ref> The first one is a chartering price, specifically the price to time-charter a 1 TEU slot for 14 tonnes of cargo on a container ship.<ref name="unctad85"/>  The other is the [[freight rate]]; or comprehensive daily cost to deliver one-TEU worth of cargo on a given route.<ref name="unctad85"/><ref name="hub225">Huber 2001, p. 225.</ref>  As a result of the [[late-2000s recession]], both indicators showed sharp drops during 2008–2009, and have shown signs of stabilization since 2010.

UNCTAD uses the [[Hamburg Shipbrokers' Association]] (formally the ''Vereinigung Hamburger Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten [[Eingetragener Verein|e. V.]]'' or VHSS for short) as its main industry source for container ship freight prices.<ref name="unctad85"/>  The VHSS maintains a few indices of container ship charter prices.  The oldest, which dates back to 1998, is called the ''Hamburg Index''.<ref name="unctad85"/>  This index considers time-charters on fully cellular container ships controlled by Hamburg brokers.<ref name="unctad85"/>  It is limited to charters of 3 months or more, and presented as the average daily cost in U.S. dollars for a one-TEU slot with a weight of 14 tonnes.<ref name="unctad85"/>  The Hamburg Index data is divided into ten categories based primarily on vessel carrying capacity.<ref name="unctad85"/>  Two additional categories exist for small vessels of under 500 TEU that carry their own cargo cranes.<ref name="unctad85"/>  In 2007, VHSS started another index, the ''New ConTex'' which tracks similar data obtained from an international group of shipbrokers.<ref name="unctad85"/>

The Hamburg Index shows some clear trends in recent chartering markets.  First, rates were generally increasing from 2000 to 2005.  From 2005 to 2008, rates slowly decreased, and in mid-2008 began a "dramatic decline" of approximately 75%, which lasted until rates stabilized in April 2009.<ref name="unctad85"/>  Rates have ranged from $2.70 to $35.40 in this period, with prices generally lower on larger ships.  The most resilient sized vessel in this time period were those from 200 to 300 TEU, a fact that the United Nations Council on Trade and Development attributes to lack of competition in this sector.<ref name="unctad85"/>  Overall, in 2010, these rates rebounded somewhat, but remained at approximately half of their 2008 values.<ref name="unctad85"/>  As of 2011, the index shows signs of recovery for container shipping, and combined with increases in global capacity, indicates a positive outlook for the sector in the near future.<ref name="unctad85"/>

{| class="wikitable" 
|- 
|+ 2008–2009 freight rates in 1000 US$/TEU<ref name="unctad88">UNCTAD, 2010, p. 88.</ref>
|- 
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | From
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | To
! scope="col" colspan="4" | 2008
! scope="col" colspan="4" | 2009
|- 
! Q1
! Q2
! Q3
! Q4
! Q1
! Q2
! Q3
! Q4
|-
|Asia
|U.S.
|1.8
|1.8
|1.9
|1.9
|1.7
|1.4
|1.2
|1.3
|-
|U.S.
|Asia
|0.8
|1.0
|1.2
|1.2
|0.9
|0.8
|0.8
|0.9
|-
|Europe
|Asia
|1.0
|1.1
|1.1
|1.1
|0.9
|0.7
|0.8
|0.9
|-
|Asia
|Europe
|2.0
|1.9
|1.8
|1.6
|1.0
|0.9
|1.0
|1.4
|-
|U.S.
|Europe
|1.3
|1.4
|1.6
|1.7
|1.5
|1.4
|1.4
|1.5
|-
|Europe
|U.S.
|1.6
|1.6
|1.6
|1.6
|1.3
|1.2
|1.1
|1.3
|-
|}
[[File:Container-ship-rates.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Year-average daily charter rates for a 1-TEU (14-tonne) slot have varied from $2.70 to $35.40 between 2000 and 2010.]]
UNCTAD also tracks container [[freight rate]]s.  Freight rates are expressed as the total price in U.S. dollars for a shipper to transport one TEU worth of cargo along a given route.<ref name="unctad85"/>  Data is given for the three main container liner routes: U.S.-Asia, U.S.-Europe, and Europe-Asia.<ref name="unctad85"/>  Prices are typically different between the two legs of a voyage, for example the Asia-U.S. rates have been significantly higher than the return U.S.-Asia rates in recent years.<ref name="unctad85"/>  Generally, from the fourth quarter of 2008 through the third quarter of 2009, both the volume of container cargo and freight rates have dropped sharply.<ref name="unctad85"/> In 2009, the freight rates on the U.S.–Europe route were sturdiest, while the Asia-U.S. route fell the most.<ref name="unctad85"/>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Container freight markets and rates<ref>{{cite web |url= http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/rmt2015_en.pdf |title= Table 3.1. Container freight markets and rates |work= Review of Maritime Transport |publisher= United Nations conference on trade and development |date= 14 October 2015 |page= 58}}</ref>
! $ per TEU from Shanghai to !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014
|-
| United States West Coast
| 1372 || 2308 || 1667 || 2287 || 2033 || 1970
|-
| United States East Coast
| 2367 || 3499 || 3008 || 3416 || 3290 || 3720
|-
| Northern Europe
| 1395 || 1789 || 881 || 1353 || 1084 || 1161
|-
| Mediterranean
| 1397 || 1739 || 973 || 1336 || 1151 || 1253
|-
| South America (Santos)
| 2429 || 2236 || 1483 || 1771 || 1380 || 1103
|-
| South Africa (Durban)
| 1495 || 1481 || 991 || 1047 || 805 || 760
|-
| Singapore
|  || 318 || 210 || 256 || 231 || 233
|-
| East Japan
|  || 316 || 337 || 345 || 346 || 273
|}

Liner companies responded to their overcapacity in several ways.  For example, in early 2009, some container lines dropped their freight rates to zero on the Asia-Europe route, charging shippers only a surcharge to cover operating costs.<ref name="unctad85"/>  They decreased their overcapacity by lowering the ships' speed (a strategy called "[[slow steaming]]") and by laying up ships.<ref name="unctad85"/> Slow steaming increased the length of the Europe-Asia routes to a record high of over 40 days.<ref name="unctad85"/> Another strategy used by some companies was to manipulate the market by publishing notices of rate increases in the press, and when "a notice had been issued by one carrier, other carriers followed suit".<ref name="unctad89">UNCTAD, 2010, p. 89.</ref>

The [[Trans-Siberian Railroad]] (TSR) has recently become a more viable alternative to container ships on the Asia-Europe route.<ref name="unctad89"/>  This railroad can typically deliver containers in 1/3 to 1/2 of the time of a sea voyage, and in late 2009 announced a 20% reduction in its container shipping rates.<ref name="unctad89"/>  With its 2009 rate schedule, the TSR will transport a forty-foot container to Poland from Yokohama for $2,820, or from Pusan for $2,154.<ref name="unctad89"/>

===Shipping industry alliances===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+ Container ship industry [[Business alliance|alliances]]<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.drewry.co.uk/container-insight-weekly/weekly-feature-articles/ready-to-go |title= Ready to go |date= 12 Mar 2017 |publisher= Drewry Shipping Consultants Limited}}</ref>
|-
! scope="col" | Alliance
! scope="col" | Partners
! scope="col" | Ships
! scope="col" | Weekly services
! scope="col" | Ports
! scope="col" | Port pairs
|-
! scope="row" | Ocean Alliance
| [[CMA CGM]], [[COSCO Shipping Lines]], [[Evergreen Marine Corporation|Evergreen]]
| 323
| 40
| 95
| 1,571
|-
! scope="row" | THE Alliance
| [[Hapag-Lloyd]], [[HMM (company)|HMM Co Ltd.]], [[Ocean Network Express]], [[Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation|Yang Ming]]
| 241
| 32
| 78
| 1,327
|-
! scope="row" | 2M Alliance
| [[Maersk Line]], [[Mediterranean Shipping Company]]
| 223
| 25
| 76
| 1,152
|}

In an effort to control costs and maximize capacity utilization on ever-larger ships, vessel sharing agreements, co-operative agreements, and slot-exchanges have become a growing feature of the maritime container shipping industry. As of March 2015, 16 of the world's largest container shipping lines had consolidated their routes and services accounting for 95 percent of container cargo volumes moving in the dominant east-west trade routes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leach|first1=Peter|title=Shippers, regulators will be watching closely as alliances launch services|url=http://www.joc.com/maritime-news/container-lines/ocean-three/shippers-regulators-will-be-watching-closely-alliances-launch-services_20150107.html|access-date=23 March 2015|agency=JOC.com|date=7 January 2015}}</ref> Carriers remain operationally independent, as they are forbidden by antitrust regulators in multiple jurisdictions from colluding on freight rates or capacity. Similarities can be drawn {{according to whom|date=May 2023}} with [[airline alliance]]s.

In July 2016 the [[European Commission]] reported that it had raised concerns with 14 container shipping carriers regarding their practice of announcing General Rate Increases (GRIs) in a coordinated manner, which potentially conflicted with the EU and [[European Economic Area|EEA]] rules on concerted practices which could distort competition ([[Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union]]). The shipping companies announced a series of commitments aiming to address the Commission's concerns, which for its part the Commission accepted as "[[legally binding]]" for the period from 2016 to 2019.<ref>European Commission, [https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_16_2446 Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by container liner shipping companies on price transparency], published 7 July 2016, accessed 9 May 2023</ref> General Rate Increases continue to be published in the industry either annually or sixth-monthly.<ref>Freightos Ltd., [https://www.freightos.com/freight-resources/gri-shipping-increase/ GRI Shipping Increases 2023], ''Freight Term Glossary'', accessed 9 May 2023</ref>