China’s state-owned shipyard has announced a design for what is set to be the world’s largest container ship.
The Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) has announced that it has received in-principle approval for a 27,500 twenty-foot equivalent unit dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel.
If built, the ship will be 3,000 TEU larger than the world’s largest container ship, Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s fleet of 24,346 TEU Irina-class vessels, which the French company took delivery of in 2023. The news was announced in published reports from the SMM maritime trade fair in Hamburg, Germany.
It is unclear when or if the new design of the 20,000-plus TEU Ultra Large Container Carrier newbuilds will come off the drawing board, and CSSC has not named a potential customer. Boxship capacity has skyrocketed in the past decade, and ports around the world have struggled to meet their enormous demand, from crane size to canal draft.
Recently, approximately 16,000 TEU of new container ships have been built, meaning they are suitable for more ocean routes than the UVCCs.
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