Two ultra-large containerships were floated by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, MSC’s Chinese shipbuilder, on October 29th, as MSC continues its aggressive expansion. The vessels, the MSC Irina and the MSC Loreto have been reported as the largest deadweight and container-weight vessels in the world.
MSC is preparing to start operating a new class of 6 vessels which will comprise of largest container ships ever made.
The deadweight tonnage of the ships is estimated to be 240,000 dwt and each vessel will have a container capacity of 24,636 TEU. The highest container stack on these ships is 25 layers. These containerships have the same length as that of other ultra-large container ships but, the specific rearrangement of the deck gives them extra container capacity.
These ships are the first ultra-large container ships to be built at the Yangzijiang Shipyard. The Shipyard pointed out numerous features on the ships that would help in increasing their operational efficiency and decreasing emissions. These features include a new “invisible” bulbous bow, large-diameter propellers, energy-saving ducts, and an exterior design that provides low air resistance. The ships also use air lubrication to reduce their drag on the water.
MSC’s aggressive expansion is continuing even in the face of near-term lowering of demand in the industry. MSC has already surpassed 4.5 million TEU in capacity with 708 vessels. Furthermore, MSC also has 125 ships on order. These will further increase their capacity by 1.7 million TEU.
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