Container ship in Istanbul

The Colombo Express, one of the largest container ships in the world, owned and operated by Hapag-Lloyd of Germany

Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. Colombo Express is the one of the largest Container ships in the world Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container Shipping line Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, and a cruise Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of Ship or vessel that carries Cargo, goods and materials from one port to another Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport. Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in a container or Vehicle, using multiple modes of Transportation (

History

The earliest container ships were converted tankers, built up from surplus T2 tankers after World War II. The T2 tanker, or T2, was an oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. The first container ship was the Ideal-X ^[1], a converted T2, owned by Malcom McLean, which carried 58 metal containers between Newark, New Jersey and Houston, Texas on its first voyage, in April 1956. Malcom Purcell McLean (born “Malcolm” but late in life he changed his given name to its historic traditional Scottish spelling ( November 14 1913 – May Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, United States and the County seat of Essex County. On 26 november 1955 a ship called Clifford J. Rogers also transported containers ^[2]. Modern container ships are purpose-built and as a class are second only to crude oil tankers and bulk carriers as the biggest cargo ships on the oceans. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry Definition There are various ways to define the term bulk carrier

Construction

Container ship "CMA CGM Balzac" in the port of Zeebrugge Belgium.

Container ships are designed so that no space is wasted. Capacity is measured in Twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), the number of standard 20-foot containers measuring 20 × 8. Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of Container ships and Container 0 × 8. 5 feet (6. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit 1 × 2. 4 × 2. 6 metres) a vessel can carry. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International This not withstanding, most containers used today measure 40 feet (12 metres) in length. Above a certain size, container ships do not carry their own loading gear, so loading and unloading can only be done at ports with the necessary cranes. However, smaller ships with capacities up to 2,900 TEU are often equipped with their own cranes.

Informally known as "box boats," they carry the majority of the world's dry cargo, meaning manufactured goods. Cargoes like metal ores or coal or wheat are carried in bulk carriers. Definition There are various ways to define the term bulk carrier There are large main line vessels that ply the deep sea routes, then many small "feeder" ships that supply the large ships at centralized hub ports. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo Most container ships are propelled by diesel engines, and have crews of between 20 and 40 people. A diesel engine is an Internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle (named after Dr They generally have a large accommodation block at the stern, near the engine room. The stern is the rear or aft part of a Ship or Boat, technically defined as the area built up over the Sternpost, extending upwards from the Counter In a Ship, an engine room is where the main engine(s generators compressors pumps fuel/lubrication oil purifiers and other major machinery are located Container ships now carry up to 15,000 TEU (approximately equivalent to 35 100-car double-stack intermodal freight trains) on a voyage. Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in a container or Vehicle, using multiple modes of Transportation (

Shipyards

Container fleet in 2006

Large container ships (over 7,000 TEU) have been built in the following shipyards:

• Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark
• Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea
• Samsung Heavy Industries, South Korea
• Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Odense Steel Shipyard (Odense Staalskibsværft located in Odense, Denmark was constructed in 1918–1919 by the A Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd (HHI is the world's largest shipbuilder company headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea. Samsung Heavy Industries or SHI ( Korean: 삼성중공업 Hanja: 三星重工業 is one of the largest Shipbuilders in the world and one of the , Ltd, South Korea
• IHI, Kure, Japan
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki, Japan
• Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Shanghai, China

Risk

Container ship "Rita" loading at Copenhagen with crew on deck. formerly known as, is a Japanese company which produces Ships, aero- Engines Turbochargers for automobiles industrial machines Power station

As of the new M/V Emma Mærsk they can carry up to 15,200 containers^[3]. Capacity By normal calculations Emma Mærsk's cargo capacity is significantly greater than the listed capacity — between and. Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers , the total value of cargo per vessel can reach $300 million. The ceaseless transit of these containers (at any given time, between 5 million and 6 million units) entails a great deal of risk.

Some of the risks are linked to the loading and unloading of containers. The risks involved in these operations affect both the cargo being moved onto or off the ship, as well as the ship itself. Containers, due to their fairly nondescript nature and the sheer number handled in major ports, require complex organization to ensure they are not lost, stolen or misrouted. In addition, as the containers and the cargo they contain make up the vast majority of the total weight of a cargo ship, the loading and unloading is a delicate balancing act, as it directly affects the centre of mass for the whole ship. There have been some instances where a poorly loaded ship has capsized at the pier as a result.

Maneuvers in the port managed in the wheel house may be dangerous, as evidenced by a container ship hitting the San Francisco Bay Bridge on November 7, 2007. The bridge of a Ship is an area or room from which the ship can be commanded Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. In open sea, storms can cause loss of containers. A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface and strongly implying Severe weather. The great value of merchandise on these vessels makes them a target for hijackers. Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. Well-organized piracy remains a threat in places such as Indonesia. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering Although pirates usually limit themselves to robbing the crew; mainly due to the difficulty of finding a suitable anchorage where a container ship can be unloaded without being noticed. Even changing the name of the vessel would be difficult as ships are quite distinctive in appearance.

It has been estimated that container ships lose over 10,000 containers at sea each year. Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers ^[4] Most go overboard during a storm, but there are some examples of whole ships being lost, as in the MSC Napoli. Kyrill While en route from Belgium to Portugal, on January 18 2007, during European windstorm Kyrill, severe gale When containers are dropped, they immediately become an environmental threat - termed "marine debris".

Specifications

Cargo too large to carry in containers can be handled using flat racks, open top containers and platforms. There are also container ships called roll-on/roll-off (RORO), which utilize shore-based ramp systems for loading and unloading. See also Merchant ship Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro Ships are ferries designed to carry wheeled Cargo such as ROROs are usually associated with shorter trade routes, as they are unable to carry the volume of crane-based container vessels. A crane is a lifting machine equipped with a Winder, Wire ropes or Chains and sheaves that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to However, due to their flexibility and high speed, ROROs are frequently used in today's container markets.

Future

Economies of scale have dictated an upward trend in sizes of container ships in order to reduce costs. One limit on ship size is the "Suezmax" standard, or the largest theoretical ship capable of passing through the Suez Canal, which measures 14,000 TEU. Suezmax is a Naval architecture term for the largest ships capable of transiting the Suez Canal fully loaded and is almost exclusively used in reference to The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation Such a vessel would displace 137,000 metric tons of deadweight (DWT), be 400 meters long, more than 50 meters wide, have a draft of nearly 15 metres, and use more than 85 MW (113,987hp) to achieve 25. Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight and variously abbreviated as DWT, D 5 knots, specifications met by the Emma Mærsk. Capacity By normal calculations Emma Mærsk's cargo capacity is significantly greater than the listed capacity — between and.

Beyond Suezmax lies the "Malaccamax" (for Straits of Malacca) ship of 18,000 TEU, displacing 300,000 DWT, 470 meters long, 60 meters wide, 16 meters of draft, and using more than 100 MW (134,102hp) for 25. Malaccamax is a Naval architecture term for the largest size of ship capable of fitting through the -deep Strait of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca is a narrow 805 km (500 mile stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra 5 knots. This is most likely the limit before a major restructuring of world container trade routes. ^[5] The biggest constraint of this design, the absence of a capable single engine, has been overcome by the MAN B&W K108ME-C. The MAN B&W K108ME-C is a low speed Two-stroke turbocharged Diesel engine for marine applications designed by the Danish department of the German Diesel engine supplier

The ultimate problem was the absence of a manufacturer capable of producing the propeller needed for transmitting this power, which would be about 10 metres in diameter, and weigh 130 tonnes. One has since been built for the Emma Mærsk by Mecklenburger Metallguss GmbH in Waren, Germany. Other constraints, such as time in port and flexibility of service routes are similar to the constraints that eventually limited the growth in size of supertankers. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry

Largest ships

Main article: List of largest container ships

Busiest ports of call

For more details on this topic, see List of world's busiest container ports. This article refers to a Japanese shipping company For other meanings see K-line (disambiguation. This is a list of the world's busiest container Seaports, total mass of actual TEU (in thousands transported through the port

Note: "TEU" stands for "Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit," i. e. a 20 foot shipping container. Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers Thus a 40 foot container is 2 TEU, etc.

Rank	Port	Country	TEUs (000s)[9]	+/- from 2004	% change from 2004
1	Singapore	Singapore	23,192	1,863	8. The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Singapore 's harbours and which Singapore 73
2	Hong Kong	People's Republic of China	22,427	443	2. The Port of Hong Kong, located by the South China Sea, is a deepwater Seaport dominated by trade in containerised manufactured products and to a lesser Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES 02
3	Shanghai	People's Republic of China	18,084	3,527	24. The Port of Shanghai, located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES 23
4	Shenzhen	People's Republic of China	16,197	2,582	18. Shenzhen is a city of sub-provincial administrative status in southern China's Guangdong province situated immediately Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES 96
5	Busan	South Korea	11,843	413	3. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː 61
6	Kaohsiung	Taiwan (Republic of China)	9,471	0	0. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES 00
7	Rotterdam	Netherlands	9,287	1,006	12. The port of Rotterdam is the largest Port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands 15
8	Hamburg	Germany	8,088	1,085	15. ||-| |}The Port of Hamburg is a Seaport and deep water Harbour off the North Sea, on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. 49
9	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	7,619	1,190	18. Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE 51
10	Los Angeles	United States of America	7,485	164	2. History The south-facing San Pedro Bay was originally a shallow Mudflat, too soft to support a Wharf. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 24

See also

• Containerization
• Container Ships Category
• Intermodal freight transport
• Merchant ship

References

1. ^ Levinson, Marc: "The Box", pg. Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in a container or Vehicle, using multiple modes of Transportation ( A merchant vessel is a Ship that transports Cargo and Passengers during peace time 1, Princeton University Press, 2006
2. ^ Dutch wiki article [:nl:Clifford J. Rogers (schip)]]
3. ^ Emma Maersk (PDF)
4. ^ Janice Podsada (19 June 2001). Lost Sea Cargo: Beach Bounty or Junk?. National Geographic News. Retrieved on 2008-04-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian
5. ^ Propulsion Trends in Container Vessels, MAN B&W, 19 January 2005 (accessed 16 November 2005)
6. ^ Lloyd's Register (6 July 2006). "World's largest container ship delivered to Lloyd's Register class". Press release. A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News
7. ^ Kyunghee Park (9 March 2006). Around Asia's markets: Glut dims prospects for cargo shippers. Bloomberg News.
8. ^ CMA CGM (02 Oct 2006). "CMA CGM MEDEA, one of the world’s largest container ships". Press release. A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News
9. ^ AAPA World Port Rankings 2005

• The world in a box — from The Economist magazine, 16 March 2006

External links

• Containership info and vessel database
• All technical details and service information of more than 4000 containerships
• Photos of container ships by German photographer Marc Steinmetz
• photographs of containerships