Maersk Line has signed a contract with Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to build 10 of the world’s largest and most efficient vessels, with an option for an additional 20. The vessels will be called the ‘Triple-E’ class for the three main purposes behind their creation — Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved. https://www.swzonline.nl/weblog/show.php?id=3[Do not forget to watch the video of the Triple E on SWZ Online].
The vessels are scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2015. They do not just set a new benchmark for size: they will surpass the current industry records for fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions per container moved held by the Emma Mærsk class vessels.
18,000 teu
Four-hundred metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high, the Triple-E is the largest vessel of any type on the water today. Its 18,000 teu (twenty-foot container) capacity is 16 percent greater (2500 containers) than today’s largest container vessel, Emma Mærsk.
Less CO2 and Fuel Consumption
The Triple-E will produce 20 percent less CO2 per container moved compared to Emma Mærsk and 50 percent less than the industry average on the Asia-Europe trade lane. In addition, it will consume approximately 35 percent less fuel per container than the 13,100 TEU vessels being delivered to other container shipping lines in the next few years, also for Asia-Europe service.
Advanced Technology
Each vessel will cost USD 190 million. Besides its size, which provides vastly superior economies of scale compared to other vessels (more cargo means less CO2 per container moved), the efficiency of Triple-E comes from its innovative design. Two ‘ultra-long stroke’ engines turn two propellers, and specially optimised hull and bow forms guide the vessel through the water at the speeds typical in the industry today. An advanced waste heat recovery system captures and reuses energy from the engines’ exhaust gas for extra propulsion with less fuel consumption.
Ship Recycling
All the materials used to build the Triple-E class will be documented and mapped in the vessel’s ‘cradle-to-cradle passport’. This means that when the vessel is retired from service, this document will ensure that all materials can be reused, recycled or disposed of in the safest, most efficient manner.
