China-designed vessel would top all containerships

China’s state-owned shipyard announced a prospective design for what would be the world’s largest containership.

China State Shipbuilding Corp.’s (CSSC) Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute said it has received approval in principle for a liquefied natural gas dual-fuel vessel of 27,500 twenty-foot equivalent units.

If constructed, the ship would be 3,000 TEUs larger than the largest containerships in the world, Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s Irina-class fleet of 24,346-TEU ships, which the French carrier took delivery of in 2023. The news came in published reports from the SMM maritime industry trade event in Hamburg, Germany.

It’s unclear when and if the new design of 20,000-plus TEU Ultra Large Container Carrier newbuildings will get off the drawing board, and CSSC did not name a prospective customer. Boxship capacities have been transformed upward in the past decade, and ports around the world have struggled to accommodate their vast demands, from crane size to channel draft.

In the recent past, containership newbuildings have been around 16,000 TEUs, suitable for more ocean routes than the UVCCs.

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