TRIPLE E SHIP

A fleet of new giant container vessels are on the way.   The new Triple E ships are 400 meters long and 59 meters wide with a draft of 14.5 meters.

The name Triple E is derived from the three design principles "Economy of Scale; Energy Efficient and Environmentally improved".  Daewoo Shipbuilding has been awarded two contracts of USD 1.9 billion each for building 20 ships.  The Triple E is designed as a successor for the E Class ships of Maersk and will be 3 meters longer and 4 meters wider than the E Class but will be able to carry an additional 2,500 containers.

The 14.5 meter draft would mean that the ship will be able to cross the Suez Canal while sailing between Europe and Asia.  Maersk is planning to use the Triple E ships in the Europe to Asia route.  In view of the 14.5 meter draft, the Triple E would not be able to cross the Panama Canal and hence cannot visit any of the ports in the Americas.  The ports that can handle the Triple E ships are Rotterdam, Gothenburg, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Gdansk in Europe and Singapore, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian, Hongkong and Tanjung Pelepas in Asia.

These Triple E Ships will adopt a new strategy of "Slow Steaming" whereby the fuel consumption will be lower by 37% though the speed is only 19 knots and slower than the predecessors.

The new Triple E ships will be able to carry 18,000 Containers - Twenty-foot Equivalent Units TEUs.  Over the last 15 years the Container Vessels have grown in size by three times.  If you unload all the containers from the Triple E and put them on a single train it would need to be 108 kilometers long.

The hull is "U" shape as compared to the E Class ships which are "V" Shaped.  This allows more containers to be stored at the lower level and hence the additional capacity of 2,500 TEUs as compared to the E Class.  Maersk is planning to have a fleet of 20 Triple E ships.

Triple-E: The largest, most efficient ship in the world from Maersk Line on Vimeo.

The Triple E when operational will be world's largest and most efficient Container Vessel.  Technological advancement and improvements in various fields are really mind boggling.  Long Live Technology Innovators.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
3rd May 2013.