LARGEST CONTAINER SHIP IN THE WORLD

 OOCL HONG KONG

(OOCL HONG KONG)

The International Shipping Industry shares a major chunk, about 90%, of the global trade in goods. According to the International Chamber of Shipping, there are more than 50,000 merchant ships operating in the oceans currently.

(OOCL HONG KONG)

Container ships (also spelt as containerships) are cargo ships that carry the load in large-sized intermodal containers. They are classified into various categories, based on their carrying capacity. Presently, there are seven major types of container ships in service. In ascending order, they are – Small Feeder, Feeder, Feedermax, Panamax, Post Panamax, New Panamax (or Neo Panamax) and Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV).

In 1956, Malcolm McLean created ripples in the cargo shipping industry by introducing the idea of containerships for the first time. Since then, the race to build the most efficient ships is on fire, producing some of the world’s largest container ships within the boundaries of physics. The biggest container vessels now rival crude oil tankers and bulk carriers as the largest commercial seaborne vessels.

(OOCL HONG KONG)

At the first place of largest container ship, we have the OOCL Hong Kong, which is an engineering marvel produced by the firm Orient Overseas Container Line. This lead ship of a series of six G-class ships is the first ship ever to cross the 21,000 TEU mark.

(OOCL HONG KONG)

Constructed by the Samsung Heavy Industries, Geoje shipyard, it has a carrying capacity of 21,413 TEU. With a length of 399.87 metres, breadth of 58.8 metres and a depth of 32.5 metres, it is the largest container ship ever built.It was christened and delivered in May 2017 and serves the trade lane from East Asia to Northern Europe, under the flag of Hong Kong.According to OOCL, China’s One Belt One Road initiative and the signing of the Hong Kong – ASEAN Free Trade Agreement has led to the creation of such a gigantic vessel.