The EMMA MAERSK, part of a Danish shipping line, is shown on the linked page.
What a ship!
No wonder 'Made in China' is displacing North American made goods big time. This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!
This is one of three ships presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012. These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China. They hold an incredible 15,000 cartons and have a 207 foot deck beam! The full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrier (which has a crew of 5,000). With its 207' beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals .. It is strictly transpacific.
The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18−20 knots) on a China-to-California run. 91% of Walmart products are made in China . So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods. The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together
and then welded. The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11 cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours.
Additional info:
- Country of origin - Denmark
- Length - 1,302 ft
- Width - 207 ft
- Net cargo - 123,200 tons
- Engine - 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110,000 BHP)
- Cruise Speed - 31 knots [Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.]
- Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)
- Crew - 13 people!
- First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006
- Construction cost - US $145,000,000
