SUPER CONTAINER SHIPS – By Des Kelly

 The “Title” is certainly superb, as far as I am concerned. Thank you, Chris.Lawton, for sending in this “post” regarding these magnificent vessels, always referred to, in the female gender. I still remember the superb little Minesweeper “Vijaya”, presented to The Royal Ceylon Navy, formerly called “Flying Fish” by the British Royal Navy, a Ship, although quite small, was ideally suited for it’s purpose of seeking out mines, covertly placed in Sea-lanes to blow up enemy shipping that were caught unaware.

I also remember that although Vijaya, was the one and ONLY SHIP, the R.Cy,N.of my era, boasted, She was rather uncomfortable for the Crew to travel in, was fondly referred to, as a CORK, that could take any Sea, and would not SINK unless of course, the inevitable happened and She was blown up by a bloody mine.

          I always loved Ships, so thank you, once again Chris., for this story which will fascinate anyone who reads it, including the many thousands of e’Lanka readers and members around the World. 

Desmond Kelly.
(Editor-in-Chief) e’Lanka.       

 SUPER  CONTAINER  SHIPS

Maersk is the largest container shipping company in the world with over 700 ships owned and leased by the Danish Moller family.

Even in China and entering Shanghai Harbour is mile after mile of Maersk shipping containers.

The Emma Maersk is over 170,000 tons and the largest Maersk container vessel in world built in 2017 is Madrid Maersk with over 214,000 tonnage.

Have  a good read of this right to the end…..
See  the editorial under the last picture. That says it  all!
The Emma Maersk, part of a Danish shipping  line, is shown in the photos below.

What a ship….no wonder ‘Made in China ‘ is displacing  North American made goods big time. This monster  transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!! Another  two will soon be  commissioned..

These  ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get their  imported
goods from China … They hold an incredible  15,000 containers and have a 207 foot deck beam!!  The  full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US  Aircraft Carrier which has a crew of 5,000.  With its  207′ beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez  Canals ……..
     
It  is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots. 
The goods arrive four days before the typical  container ship (18-20 knots) on a  China-to-California run. 91% of Wal-Mart products are  made in China. So this behemoth is hugely competitive even  when carrying perishable goods.   
The ship  was built in five sections. The sections are floated together  and then welded. The command bridge is higher than a 10-story  building and has
11 cargo crane rigs that can operate  simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two  hours.

Additional info:
Country of origin  – Denmark
Length – 1,302 ft
Width – 207 ft
Net cargo  – 123,200 tons
Engine – 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine  (110,000 BHP)
Cruise Speed – 31 knots

Cargo  capacity – 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)
Crew – 13  people!
First trip – Sept. 08, 2006
Construction cost –  US $145,000,000+
Silicone painting applied to the ship  bottom reduces water  resistance and saves 317,000  gallons of diesel per year.