MSC's jaw dropping order for 11 mega containerships from South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering are now believed by Alphaliner to be able to carry 23,356 TEU, making them larger than originally expected as they were initially reported to have a capacity of 22,000 TEU.
The ships are thought to be one row wider than the existing largest boxships with a length of 402 metre and a breadth of 61.4 metres. They feature a length of 24 container bays, a breadth of 24 deck rows, a height of 24 container tiers - 12 in the holds and 12 on deck, leading Alphaliner to christen this ship type the Megamax-24, reported Singapore's Splash 247.
The 11 ships will be deployed on the Asia-Europe tradelane and are expected to be delivered in two years time.
Alphaliner estimates MSC's ships will be 500 TEU larger than the ships just ordered by rival CMA CGM. The French shipping line selected LNG-fuelled boxships that are to be built in Shanghai, whereas MSC has opted for scrubbers. The gas-powered ships are likely to have a capacity of 22,852 TEU.
"The 504 TEU difference is a rough estimate and it is based on the assumption that half a hold - or one 40-foot bay - will have to be 'sacrificed' to create space for the larger LNG tanks," said Alphaliner.