Rendition of the Triple E class, showing the forward superstructure and separate funnels towards the rear |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Daewoo Shipbuilding |
| Operators: | Maersk |
| Preceded by: | Mærsk E class container ship |
| Planned: | 20 ships ordered |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Container ship |
| Tonnage: | 165,000 metric tons deadweight (DWT) |
| Length: | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Beam: | 59 m (194 ft) |
| Draft: | 14.5 m (48 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Twin MAN engines, 43,000 hp each |
| Capacity: | 18,000 TEU |
The Maersk Triple E class is a planned family of large, fuel-efficient container ships, designed as a successor to the Mærsk E-class. In February 2011, Maersk awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding a US$1.9 billion contract to build twenty of the ships.
The name "Triple E" is derived from the class's three design principles: "Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved". These ships are expected to be not only the world's largest ships in service, but also the most efficient containerships per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of cargo.
The ships will be 400 metres (1,300 ft) long and 59 metres (194 ft) wide. While only 3 metres (9.8 ft) longer and 4 metres (13 ft) wider than E-class ships, the Triple E ships will be able to carry 2,500 more containers. With a draft of 14.5 metres (48 ft), they will be too deep to use any port in the Americas or cross the Panama Canal, but will be able to transit the Suez Canal when sailing between Europe and Asia.
One of the class's main design features is the dual 43,000 horsepower (32,000 kW) ultra-long stroke two-stroke diesel engines, driving two propellers at a design speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Slower than its predecessors, this class uses a strategy known as "slow-steaming", which is expected to lower fuel consumption by 37% and carbon dioxide emissions per container by 50%. The Triple E design helped Maersk win a "Sustainable Ship Operator of the Year" award in July 2011.
Maersk plans to use the ships to service routes between Europe and Asia, projecting that Chinese exports will continue to grow. The Europe-Asia trade represents the company's largest market; it already has 100 ships serving this route. Maersk hopes to consolidate its share of the Europe-Asia trade with the addition of the Triple-E class ships.
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In February 2011, Maersk announced orders for a new "Triple E" family of containerships with a capacity of 18,000 TEU, with an emphasis on lower fuel consumption.[1] They will be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea; the initial order, for ten ships, was valued at US$1.9 billion; Maersk had options to buy a further twenty ships.[2] (2 trillion Korean Won).[3] In June 2011, Maersk announced that 10 more ships had been ordered for $1.9bn,[4] but an option for a third group of ten ships would not be exercised.[5] Payment of the ship is "tail-heavy": 40% while the ship is being built, and the remaining 60% paid on delivery.[6] Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2014.[7]
Many previous containerships had been built at Maersk's Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark, but Asian builders are now considered more competitively priced.[8] Maersk had approached several different builders in Asia, having ruled out European shipbuilders (for cost reasons) and Chinese (for technology reasons).[9][10]
Investment in more-efficient ships helped Maersk win the "Sustainable Ship Operator of the Year" award from Petromedia Group's on-line publication sustainableshipping.com in July 2011.[11]
Unlike conventional single-engined container ships, the new class of ships is expected to be a twin-skeg design: It has twin diesel engines, each driving a separate propeller. Usually a single engine is more efficient,[9] but using two propellers allows a better distribution of pressure, increasing propeller efficiency more than the disadvantage of using two engines.[12]
The engines have waste heat recovery (WHR) systems; these are also used in 20 other Mærsk vessels including the eight E-class ships. The name "Triple E class" highlights three design principles: "Economy of scale, energy efficient and environmentally improved".[13]
The twin-skeg principle also means that the engines can be lower and further back, allowing more room for cargo. Maersk requires ultra-long stroke two-stroke engines resulting in lower RPM, but this requires more propeller area for the same effect, and such a combination is only possible with two propellers due to the low water depth of the desired route.[10][14][10]
A slower speed of 19 knots is targeted as the optimum, compared to the 23–26 knots of similar ships.[10] The top speed would be 25 knots, but steaming at 20 knots would reduce fuel consumption by 37%, and at 17.5 knots fuel consumption would be halved.[15] These slower speeds would add 2–6 days to journey times.[16][17]
The various environmental features are expected to cost $30 million per ship, of which the WHR is to cost $10 million.[9] Carbon dioxide emissions, per container, are expected to be 50% lower than emissions by typical ships on the Asia-Europe route[18] and 20% lower than Emma Maersk.[19] These will be the most efficient containerships in the world, per TEU.
The ships are expected to be the world's largest when they enter service.[20] A few larger ships have been built, but they were all oil supertankers and have now been scrapped;[20] Seawise Giant was the largest of all.
The hull is more 'boxy' with a U-shape compared to the V-shape of Maersk's E-class; this allows more containers to be stored at lower levels, so while the Triple-E is only 3m wider and 4m longer, it can carry 2,500 more containers, an increase of 16%. The Triple-E can carry 23 rows of containers compared to 22 of the E-class, which makes better use of the reach of current terminal cranes.[9]
The deckhouse is relatively further forward, whilst the engines are to the rear; similar to CMA CGM's Christophe Colomb class of containerships, also built by Daewoo.[21] The forward deckhouse allows containers to be stacked higher in front of the bridge (which further increases capacity) whilst still maintaining forward visibility good enough to comply with SOLAS regulation V/22.
When the class was ordered, no port in the Americas could handle ships of their size. Suitable ports include Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian and Hong Kong in Asia, and Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Felixstowe in Europe. The ships will be too big for the New Panamax sized locks on the Panama Canal,[22] and their main route is expected to be Asia-Europe (through the Suez Canal).[23] The draft of the Triple-E is 14.5m, less than the SuezMax requirement of 52.6 ft (16.0 m) at 59m beam.[24] Handling equipment at ports was the main constraint on size, rather than the dimensions of canals or straits.[9]
Anchor and mooring winch systems are being supplied by TTS Marine.[25]
Maersk plans to use the ships on routes between Europe and Asia.[20] In 2008, there was a reduction in demand for container transport, caused by recessions in many countries. This left shipping lines in financial difficulties in 2009, with surplus capacity. Some ships were laid up or scrapped. However, there was a sudden resurgence of demand for container transport in 2010; Maersk posted its largest ever profit,[27] and orders for new ships increased, leading to fresh concerns about future overcapacity.[28] Slow steaming is one way of managing capacity and reducing fuel consumption; the Triple E Class is designed for slower speeds than Maersk's preceding class of large container ships. Nonetheless, this order for many big ships is a gamble, on Maersk's part, that Chinese exports will continue to grow.[20] Maersk already uses approximately 100 ships on the Asia-Europe route, which is their most important.[16]
Maersk's has long dominated the container shipping market, but market share has stagnated since acquiring P&O Nedlloyd in 2005. The order of twenty very large ships will help consolidate Maersk's share of the market.[29] The construction of newer, larger ships has influenced development plans at ports such as London Gateway.[30]