Lloyd's Register: We'll Soon See Ships of 24,000 TEU

Maersk Line's 18,000 TEU Triple-E series were formerly the world's largest container ships before CSCL built its new 19,100 TEU ships. 

Lloyd's Register says mega container ships capable of carrying 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) will soon be plying the world's oceans, shipping industry, ShippingWatch reports.   

So far, rumours have only talked of ships capable of carrying 22,000 TEU. 

"12 years ago researchers were looking at Malaccamaxes, 18,000 TEU vessels named after the Malacca Strait," said David Tozer, container segment manager at Lloyd's Register.

"People thought that this was absolutely crazy.

"But since then things have developed to the extent that we'll soon see ships of 24,000 TEU.

"The volumes are there, so it's going to happen," he said.  

Currently, the world's largest container ships are China Shipping Container Lines Co., Ltd's (CSCL) new 19,100 TEU ships, which will take the crown from Maersk Line's 18,000 TEU Triple-E series.

"We're experiencing among our customers that the biggest carriers in front are working seriously with the giant ships and are looking into the future," said Tozer.

"They need to understand what the future is going to look like, and they need to take control and become part of it." 

Tozer said that with companies such as Maersk Line, CSCL, Evergreen and CMA CGM having already invested in 17,000 to 19,000 TEU ships, 24,000 TEU was only a matter of time as the commercial pressure to put more cargo on ships rises. 

However, he stressed that there were still safety and technical challenges for a ship of that size, in particular the size of port terminals and bridges that span waterways, such as the one that crosses over the Suez Canal. 

"We're not involved in all projects with the carriers, but we're going to put an emphasis on safety in terms of our customers," he said. 

Denmark's A.P. Moeller-Maersk CEO Søren Skou also recently cast doubts over larger container ships after suggesting that the sheer size could prove problematic for entering ports, and that the inflexibility of where to dock could leech away the cost benefits of using bigger ships. 

The first of CSCL's five 19,100 TEU box ships is currently set to launch in November, and is also said to be capable of 20 percent reduction in fuel usage.