Maersk Line is close to placing an order for a series of record-breaking 18,000teu containerships.
A considerable amount of design work still has to be completed, with several South Korean yards in the running for an order that could be worth close to US$2 billion.
The ships would be longer and wider than anything ever built before, and would require a new generation of cranes, with a longer outreach to stretch across 22 rows of containers.
The ships would be of revolutionary design, with new propulsion systems and other technological advances that would considerably reduce slot costs and cut emissions. International Freighting Weekly |