Bigger Container Ships

When you see a container ship up close, the sheer size can overwhelm you. Even the smallest of these ships can look gigantic. On average a container ship can hold up to 15,000 teu's (that's 20' standard equivalents) and ports have already been modified over time to accommodate the needs of such a large vessel. More recently, it has been announced that even larger and more powerful ships are in development. These new ships will be able to handle an abundant 18,000 teu's. What does this mean for the ports? Right now it means that there will have to be a lot of changes in the overall make up of the equipment at the ports. There will be a need for much larger equipment such as the cranes that will need to reach the new heights as well as combat the other factors such as wind weight and visibility not to mention the general shifting that happens when containers are moved around. So is this all really necessary? If you ask people like the president of A.P. Moller, Maersk's sister company, the answer is a resounding yes. They are always looking for bigger and better and they say that this will lower overall emissions which will be better for the environment. Really within the current technology, the capacity of ships are ready to hold even 22,000 teu's and with this on the horizon it only makes sense to start the complete overhaul of the ports. In the next few years we will be seeing more and more of these "ultra large" vessels that will soon become the norm in the shipping industry.