Largest Container Ships

Sungdong Shipbuilding Wins $583M Order

According to a Jan 31 report from Reuters, South Korea's small and medium-sized shipbuilder Sungdong Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd  won orders worth $582.6m to build six large container ships. (Source: Reuters)  

Laid-Up Container Ships

A sharp contraction in world trade has idled more than 200 container ships, threatening the survival of many companies, according to The Journal of Commerce. "The slump in container shipping appears certain to extend into 2010 or beyond. Some companies won't survive," said Joseph Bonney, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Commerce. Carriers operating from Asia to Europe, the world's busiest container trade route, are expected to lose up to $5b this year

Wreck Removal Costs More Nowadays

Insurers, Lloyd's of London, say in a new report that the cost of dealing with shipwrecks is rising as ships grow in size. The report, 'The challenges and implications of removing shipwrecks in the 21st century', warns that the cost of dealing with shipwrecks is spiralling and the increase in removal cost is often passed to insurers, reinsurers and ship owners. Recent examples of expensive wreck removals include the container ship Rena which sank off New Zealand in 2011

Container Ship Capsizes in Belgian Port

Photo Credit: International Marine Consultancy According to the Herald Tribune, a large container ship capsized during loading Thursday in Belgian port city Antwerp, officials said. No injuries were reported. The cause of the capsizing of the Republica di Genova, a roll on/roll off vessel of the London-based Grimaldi Lines, was not immediately clear, authorities said. Grimaldi Group vessels carry containers and Fiat cars from Italy to Antwerp.

MSC and CMA CGM Enter Partnership

 The world’s second and third-largest container shipping companies have announced the signature of a major agreement.   The two family-owned companies, the Swiss-Italian MSC and France’s CMA CGM, today agreed to form a broad-based operating partnership spanning several trades, including Asia-Northern Europe, Asia-Southern Africa and all of the South American markets. The agreement, which is designed to improve the two partners’ respective performance

Ship Grounded off Norfolk Coast

A rescue operation has been launched after a large container ship ran aground off Haisboro Sands. The vessel, The City of Sunderland, is carrying a cargo of 642 Nissan cars and is currently lying on a sand bar eight miles off the north Norfolk coast. There are 13 crew members on board. The 9,576 ton ship became stuck at approximately 2.20am this morning while on a voyage from the port of Zeebrugge to Tees Port.

New Abu Dhabi Container Terminal Receives First Ship

Khalifa Port commences commercial operations on schedule in support of Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. Khalifa Port formally received its first ship from a commercial customer on target time set in the original 100 steps construction plan.  The ship was the MSC Bari,  one of the largest and newest container ships in the world.  MSC Bari is 366 metres long, 51 metres wide, has a gross tonnage of over 153,000 tons and is capable of transporting 14,000 containers

UAE: Jebel Ali Port Handles Simultaneous Visits by Mega Ships

For the second time in a week, global marine terminal operator DP World welcomed and simultaneously handled two mega container vessels at its flagship Jebel Ali Port, reinforcing its relentless efforts and capability to continuously meet customers’ demands. The ships, MSC Beatrice and MSC Lauren, sailed in within 10 hours of each other, barely a week after the MSC Daniella and the MSC Bettina. All the four vessels are owned by Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and

Ha Long Shipyard Launches Biggest Container Ship in Vietnam

Ha Long Shipyard successfully launched a container ship in northern Quang Ninh Province with its capacity of 1,750 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU), which is the biggest container ship ever built in Vietnam. Shipyard director Nguyen Duc Than reportedly said the container ship, named Vinashin Dragon, would be delivered to a local client by the end of the first quarter next year. It is the first ship of a contract for five container ships ordered by Vinashin Lines

Port of Tacoma Deepens Sitcum Waterway

Keeping an eye to its future, the Port of Tacoma has started a new waterway-deepening project that will assure that the Pacific Northwest's largest container port will continue to attract the world's largest container ships. "We already serve Maersk Sealand's S-Type container vessels -- the world's largest," said Jack Fabulich, President of the Port of Tacoma Commission, adding that these Maersk container ships, at 380 yards (347-meters)