A container ship is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in containers. They are the common means of commercial freight transport that carries most seagoing non-bulk cargo. Container shipping transports almost 90% of worldwide non-bulk cargo; these ships have been built in increasingly larger sizes to be more economical, taking advantage of scale and reduce operational expenses.
The capacity of a container ship is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU); this unit of measure is based on the dimensions of a standard container (ISO standard containers – height 8.5 feet, width 8 feet, and length 20 feet which represents an approximate volume of 38.5 cubic meters). High TEU capacity container ships are categorized to Very Large Container Ship (VLCS) and Ultra Large Container Ship (ULCS). The ship with a 10,000 to 20,000 TEU capacity is defined as a Very Large Container Ship (VLCS), while the ship with a capacity greater than 20,000 TEU is defined as an Ultra Large Container Ship (ULCS).
List of the 10 largest container ships
The following is a list of the ten largest container ships worldwide, ranked in order of their TEU capacity.
| # | Built | Vessel Name | Length overall | Beam | Max.
TEU |
Operator | Flag | ||
| (m) | (ft) | (m) | (ft) | ||||||
| 1 | 2020 | HMM Algeciras
HMM Copenhagen HMM Dublin HMM Gdansk HMM Hamburg HMM Helsinki HMM Le Havre |
399.9 | 1,312 | 61.0 | 200.1 | 23,964 | HMM | Panama |
| 2 | 2020 | HMM Oslo
HMM Rotterdam HMM Southampton HMM Stockholm HMM St Petersburg |
399.9 | 1,312 | 61.5 | 202 | 23,820 | HMM | Panama |
| 3 | 2019 | MSC Gülsün
MSC Samar MSC Leni MSC Mia MSC Febe |
399.9 | 1,312 | 61.5 | 202 | 23,756 | MSC | Panama |
| 2020 | MSC Ambra | 399.9 | 1,312 | 61.5 | 202 | 23,756 | MSC | Panama | |
| 4 | 2019 | MSC Mina
MSC Isabella MSC Arina MSC Nela MSC Sixin |
399.8 | 1,312 | 61.0 | 200.1 | 23,656 | MSC | Panama |
| 2021 | MSC Apolline | 399.8 | 1,312 | 61.0 | 200.1 | 23,656 | MSC | Liberia | |
| 5 | 2020 | CMA CGM Jacques Saadé
CMA CGM Champs Elysées CMA CGM Palais Royal CMA CGM Louvre |
399.9 | 1,312 | 61.3 | 201 | 23,112 | CMA CGM | France |
| 2021 | CMA CGM Rivoli
CMA CGM Montmartre CMA CGM Concorde |
399.9 | 1,312 | 61.3 | 201 | 23,112 | CMA CGM | France | |
| 6 | 2017 | OOCL Hong Kong
OOCL Germany OOCL Japan OOCL United Kingdom OOCL Scandinavia |
399.9 | 1,312 | 58.8 | 193 | 21,413 | OOCL | Hong Kong |
| 2018 | OOCL Indonesia | 399.9 | 1,312 | 58.8 | 193 | 21,413 | OOCL | Hong Kong | |
| 7 | 2018 | COSCO Shipping Universe
COSCO Shipping Nebula COSCO Shipping Galaxy COSCO Shipping Solar COSCO Shipping Star COSCO Shipping Planet |
400.0 | 1,312.3 | 58.6 | 192 | 21,237 | COSCO | Hong Kong |
| 8 | 2018 | CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupéry | 400.0 | 1,312.3 | 59.0 | 193.6 | 20,954 | CMA CGM | France |
| 2018 | CMA CGM Jean Mermoz
CMA CGM Louis Blériot |
400.0 | 1,312.3 | 59.0 | 193.6 | 20,954 | CMA CGM | Malta | |
| 9 | 2017 | Madrid Maersk
Munich Maersk Moscow Maersk Milan Maersk Monaco Maersk |
399.0 | 1,309.1 | 58.6 | 192 | 20,568 | Maersk | Denmark |
| 2018 | Marseille Maersk
Manchester Maersk Murcia Maersk Manila Maersk Mumbai Maersk |
399.0 | 1,309.1 | 58.6 | 192 | 20,568 | Maersk | Denmark | |
| 2019 | Maastricht Maersk | 399.0 | 1,309.1 | 58.6 | 192 | 20,568 | Maersk | Denmark | |
| 10 | 2017 | MOL Truth | 399.0 | 1,309.1 | 58.0 | 190.3 | 20,182 | ONE | Panama |
| 2018 | MOL Treasure | 399.0 | 1,309.1 | 58.0 | 190.3 | 20,182 | ONE | Panama | |
1. HMM Algeciras
HMM Algeciras is the world’s largest container ship as of 2021; the vessel was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea.
Specification
HMM Algeciras is operated by HMM Co with 399.9 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 61 meters (200ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 23,964 TEU and is registered in Panama.
Sister ships
- HMM Copenhagen.
- HMM Dublin.
- HMM Gdansk.
- HMM Hamburg.
- HMM Helsinki.
- HMM Le Havre.
2. HMM Oslo
HMM Oslo belongs to the Algeciras class, a class of container ships consisting of 12 vessels built for HMM; the vessel was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Specification
HMM Oslo is operated by HMM Co with 399.9 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 61.5 meters (202ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 23,820 TEU and is registered in Panama.
Sister ships
- HMM Rotterdam.
- HMM Southampton.
- HMM Stockholm.
- HMM St Petersburg.
3. MSC Gülsün
MSC Gülsün was built in 2019 and was the world’s largest container ship at that time; Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea built the vessel.
Specification
The Mediterranean Shipping Company operates MSC Gülsün with 399.9 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 61.5 meters (202ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 23,756 TEU and is registered in Panama.
Sister ships
- MSC Samar.
- MSC Leni.
- MSC Mia.
- MSC Febe.
4. MSC Mina
MSC Mina was built in 2019, the vessel was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Specification
The Mediterranean Shipping Company operates MSC Mina with 399.8 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 61 meters (200ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 23,656 TEU and is registered in Panama.
Sister ships
- MSC Isabella.
- MSC Arina.
- MSC Nela.
- MSC Sixin.
- MSC Apolline.
5. CMA CGM Jacques Saadé
CMA CGM Jacques Saadé is the first of a class of nine sister ships that were the world’s largest vessels to be powered using liquefied natural gas at construction time. China State Shipbuilding Corporation built the vessel.
Specification
CMA CGM operates CMA CGM Jacques Saadé with 399.9 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 61.3 meters (201ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 23,112 TEU and is registered in France.
Sister ships
- CMA CGM Champs Elysées.
- CMA CGM Palais Royal.
- CMA CGM Louvre.
- CMA CGM Rivoli.
- CMA CGM Montmartre.
- CMA CGM Concorde.
6. OOCL Hong Kong
OOCL Hong Kong was the largest container ship ever built at the time she was delivered in 2017. She is the lead ship of the G class, of which five other vessels were built. Samsung Heavy Industries, Geoje shipyard, built the vessel.
Specification
OOCL operates OOCL Hong Kong with 399.9 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 58.8 meters (193 ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 21,413 TEU and is registered in Hong Kong.
Sister ships
- OOCL Germany.
- OOCL Japan.
- OOCL United Kingdom.
- OOCL Scandinavia.
- OOCL Indonesia.
7. COSCO Shipping Universe
COSCO Shipping Universe belongs to the Universe class, which is a series of 6 container ships built for COSCO SHIPPING Lines. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding built the vessel in Shanghai.
Specification
COSCO SHIPPING Lines operate COSCO Shipping Universe with 400 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 58.6 meters (192 ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 21,237 TEU and is registered in Hong Kong.
Sister ships
- COSCO Shipping Nebula.
- COSCO Shipping Galaxy.
- COSCO Shipping Solar.
- COSCO Shipping Star.
- COSCO Shipping Planet.
8. CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupéry
CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupéry is the flagship of CMA CGM’s fleet and the largest container ship to sail under the French flag and the largest Europe-based ship. Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines built the vessel.
Specification
CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupéry is operated by CMA CGM with 400 meters (1,312 ft.) long, 59 meters (193 ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 20,954 TEU and is registered in France.
Sister ships
- CMA CGM Jean Mermoz.
- CMA CGM Louis Blériot.
9. Madrid Maersk
Madrid Maersk is the first of eleven second-generation Maersk Triple E-class container ships. The vessel was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard.
Specification
Maersk Line operates Madrid Maersk with 399 meters (1,309 ft.) long, 58.6 meters (192 ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 20,568 TEU and is registered in Denmark.
Sister ships
- Munich Maersk.
- Moscow Maersk.
- Milan Maersk.
- Monaco Maersk.
- Marseille Maersk.
- Manchester Maersk.
- Murcia Maersk.
- Manila Maersk.
- Mumbai Maersk.
- Maastricht Maersk.
10. MOL Truth
MOL Truth belongs to the Triumph class, which is a series of 6 container ships that are now operated by the Japanese shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE). Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea built the vessel.
Specification
MOL Truth is operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE) with 399 meters (1,309 ft.) long, 58 meters (190 ft.) wide. She has a maximum capacity of 20,182 TEU and is registered in Panama.
Sister ships
- MOL Treasure.
Related Article: Top 15 Largest Container Shipping Companies in the World.
Images Source: Wikimedia Commons.
