Information AboutContainer Ships |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CONTAINER SHIP | |
| commercial item transport and distribution | |
| ship types | |
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Container ships are Cargo Ship s that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called Containerization . However, cargo that is too big to carry in containers can be handled using so-called ''flat racks'', ''open top containers'' and ''platforms''. There are also container ships called " RoRo 's" (for roll-on, roll-off) which utilize shore-based ramp systems for loading and unloading. RoRo's are usually associated with shorter trade routes, as they are unable to carry the volume of crane-based container vessels. However, due to their flexibilty and high speed, Ro-Ro's are frequently used in today's container markets. They are designed in such a manner that no space is wasted. Their capacity is measured in TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units). This is the number of 20 ft containers that it can carry. The majority of containers used today are 40 ft in length. Above a certain size, container ships do not carry their own loading gear. Hence loading and unloading can only be done at ports with the necessary cranes. However, smaller ships with capacities up to 2 900 TEUs 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 Carrier s. 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 Port s. Most container ships are propelled by Diesel Engine s, and have crews of between 20 and 40 people. They generally have a large accommodation block at the Stern , directly above the Engine Room . Container ships now carry up to 10,000 containers on a voyage. The first container ships were converted Tanker s, built up from surplus tanker Liberty Ship s after World War II . The first container ship was the ''Ideal-X'', a converted oil tanker which carried 58 metal containers between Newark, New Jersey and Houston, Texas on its first voyage. Now, container ships are all purpose-built and, as a class, are second only to Crude Oil Tanker s as the biggest cargo ships on the oceans. Moreover due to the growth of the containers transit, companies must manage Container Ship Risks . Shipyards Large container ships (over 7000 TEU) have been built in the following shipyards:
LARGEST SHIPS The biggest ships (listed by TEU) in the world are: Note the correct and full list is on German Wikipedia .
FUTURE The trend is for bigger sizes of container ships to reduce costs by economy of scales. In years to come, the limit will be the Suezmax ship, with 12000 TEU. Such vessels would need to displace 137,000 DWT, be 400 meters long, more than 50 meters large, draught nearly 15 meters and more than 85 MW to achieve 25.5 knots. Such designs are certainly already in preparation. The next step will be the MalaccaMax ship, with 18000 TEU, of 200,000 DWT, 470 meters long, 60 large, 16 draught, with more than 100 MW for 25.5 knots. This should be the limit before major restructuring of world container trade routes. The biggest constraint of this design, the absence of a capable single engine, has been overcome by the MAN B&W K108ME-C . The ultimate problem is the (temporary) absence of a manufacturer capable of producing the 10 meters diameter, 130 tonnes propeller needed for transmitting this power. Other constraints, such as time in port and lack of flexibility of service routes are similar to the constraints that eventually limited the growth in size of the Supertankers . REFERENCES
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