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What is a container ship?

A container ship is a vessel designed specifically for use in carrying cargo. The method of transportation is by container box operation system, which the goods to be stuffed in the container box and loaded onto the ship. Each Container ship is specially designed and equipped with 1-4 Quay Cranes, each crane will convey container box to load onto the ship in column arrangement format according to the width of the ship.

Today, international shipping by sea accounts for about 90% of global cargo and is the largest and most important international shipping system that has long driven global economy by moving a wide range of goods around the world from one port to another according to the needs or agreements of trading. In addition, sea freight is also considered as an international shipping channel that helps entrepreneurs save the most cost, suitable for transporting large quantities of goods at a time and can be delivered to all countries around the world.

At present, there are a total of 5,952 container vessels in service spread across the globe. And to respond the demand in the shipping space of trader around the world that is increasing every year. Shipping lines are racing to increase filling capacity to be more competitive and profitable. Because bigger ships are always expected to be better, we have compiled a list of the world's largest container ships ranked by capacity in the top 5 rankings as follows.

Credit: https://logistics-manager.com/

1. MSC Irina - 24,346 TEU capacity

MSC IRINA is the world's largest container ship. This giant cargo ship is a Chinese-developed vessel. With a length of 399.99 meters, it can carry containers up to 24,346 TEU with tonnage capacity of 224,900 tons. She first docked at a port in Xiamen City, Fujian Province on April 8, 2023

2. OOCL Spain - 24,188 TEU capacity

OOCL Spain is a 24,188 TEU cargo vessel with a total length of 400 meters and a width of 61.3 meters, assembled by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering and is the first of OOCL vessel's group capable of handling more than 24,000 TEU.

3. MSC Tessa - 24,000 TEU capacity

The vessel is 399 meters long, 61.5 meters wide, and has the same deck area as four football fields, carrying 240,000 tons of containers, breaking the previous record and being the first ship to carry 24,000 TEUs. Moreover, the ship can contain 2,000 reefer containers, keeping food fresh until its destination.

4. Ever A lot - 24,004 TEU capacity

The Ever Alot is 400 meters long and 61.5 meters wide, surpassing her sister ship, the Ever Ace, with a capacity of 24,000 TEU. It is currently the largest one of the 7 container ships in the Evergreen A class.

5. Ever Ace - 23,992 TEU capacity

It has a container capacity of 20 feet 23,992 TEU, is 400 m (1,300 ft) long and 61.5 m (202 ft) wide. Ever Ace's first voyage was in July 2021, and at the time of the ship's launch, the Ever Ace set a world record for the largest container ship. She was the first of Evergreen's 12 container ships planned of this magnitude, built for Evergreen Marine, currently sailing under the Panama flagship.

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