World's Biggest Container Ship Sets Another Productivity Record

The world’s latest, largest shipping container vessel, the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, is currently on it’s maiden voyage and is setting productivity records at virtually ever port it stops at. Maersk’s giant cargo ship, is capable of transporting 18,200 TEU and wherever it docks, the ports must have the latest technological advances in equipment in order to effectively unload it’s cargo in a timely manner. So far, it looks like this first trip is a huge success as the reviews have all been extremely positive.

The massive ship just recently set a new record in Tangier at Morocco’s Tanger-Med port facility, where 7,804 TEU were unloaded at a productivity level of 29 moves per hour (MPH).

"The Straits of Gibraltar are one of the great maritime crossroads of the world, and so we are proud to charge forward into the next phase in the evolution of global shipping, in which we continue to serve as a key transshipment center for the African and South American trade."- APM Terminals Tangier Managing Director

In 2012, APM Terminals Tangier handled 1.23 million TEU and expects that it will continue it’s upward growth trend as this latest test of their facilities gives the port officials tremendous confidence heading into the future.

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller is scheduled to complete it’s maiden voyage after stopping at Singapore and Hong Kong. The world’s biggest shipping company has plans to build 19 more of these behemoths in the next couple of years and if this first trip of their first Triple-E cargo vessels is any indication, the $2 billion investment needed to build these big ships is certainly going to pay off, well into the future. It looks like it will be smooth sailing ahead as the company positions itself for the expected doubling of the growth of the global economy in the next ten years.

There are already plans in place by some nations to build even bigger container vessels than Maersk's Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller. It is expected that by the year 2030, cargo ships could be carrying up to 30,000 TEU. The global economy is growing constantly and the shipping industry has to be able to stay one step ahead of it to maintain it’s efficiency and effectiveness. As the demand for services from the shipping industry grows, it will become increasingly important to continuously invest in shipping containers to maintain the steady and dependable supply needed, to accommodate the rising global demand. At the moment, the international shipping industry is going through an evolution of sorts and these new big ships are a testament to the direction the maritime sector is going.