Emma Maersk - Ship

Emma Maersk

Emma Mærsk is the first container ship in the E-class of eight owned by the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group. When she was launched in 2006, Emma Mærsk was the largest container ship ever built. As of 2010, she and her seven sister ships are the longest container ships constructed and the longest ships currently in use, after the largest ship ever built, Seawise Giant, was permanently moored in 2004 and scrapped in 2010. Officially, Emma Mærsk is able to carry around 11,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) or 14,770 TEU depending on definition. In May 2010, the class set a record of 15,011 TEU in Tanger-Med, Tangiers on sister Ebba Mærsk.

Capacity

Originally Maersk reported a capacity of 11,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) as the maximum capacity if all are fully loaded 14 ton containers, according to Maersk company's then method of calculating capacity which, at her introduction into service, was about 1,400 more containers than any other ship is capable of carrying. However, Maersk also acknowledges the standard method of defining capacity, stating 14,770 TEU.

By normal calculations, Emma Mærsk has a cargo capacity significantly greater than what is reported—between 13,500 and 15,200 TEU. The difference between the official and estimated numbers is because Maersk calculates the capacity of a container ship by weight (in this case, 14 tons/container) that can be carried on a vessel. For Emma Mærsk, this is 11,000+ containers of which 1,000 can be reefers. Other companies calculate the capacity of a container ship according to the maximum number of containers that can be put on the ship, independent of the weight of the containers. This number is always greater than the number calculated by the Maersk method.

Comparing the size of ships can be done in various ways. Comparing ships in different trades often comes down to simple dimensions or weight of cargo carried. Ships in the same trade can, usually, be compared more directly. One measure of...