The Triple-E ship is launching a new standard for container shipping, in terms of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, but most obviously in size. The famously large vessel stands 73 meters tall, with a length of 400 meters and a width of 59 meters.
These dimensions will allow for the transportation of 18,000 containers – the biggest ship in the ocean.
Following the Maersk Line tradition, a company has been charged with the manufacture of numerous scale models of the new Triple-E, which will join a long line of Maersk models.
Models made in SpainBased in Barcelona, Modelos Navales Riera has been making models for various shipyards and companies around the world since the 1960s, and has worked with Maersk Line for many of those years. They are currently manufacturing Triple-E models, at the scale of 1:200, 1:500 and 1:1000.
These models are created with the utmost attention to detail and proportion, because just one incorrect measurement or calculation could throw off the entire scale of the model.
The amount of detail within each ship is fascinating, with the replicas acting as exact duplicates of their much larger source originals, right down to the familiar blue and white seven-pointed star on each of the tiny corrugated containers.
An old industry traditionThe tradition of scale models has a long-standing history within the shipping industry, serving as office decorations and tangible reminders of landmark occasions.
According to Maersk’s historian, Henning Morgen, shipping companies have always commissioned models of all of their ships, following the logic that “the ship itself should be out at sea earning money, thus the models will take their place at home for display.”
Mr. Morgen noted that in the past, “it was conventionally written into shipbuilding contracts: a clause would state that in addition to the actual ship, a model would be delivered by the shipyard.” This was customary, but as the designs of the ships have changed with time, so has the custom.
Nowadays, model-making companies – like Riera Models – are charged with mass producing small scale models that can be purchased as decor, or as gifts for clients and friends.
All over the placeAll of Maersk Line’s ships have been memorialized in this manner, their names painted in neat letters.
The recently christened Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller ship will join the family of Maersk models in various sizes, proudly on display in many corporate buildings.
They instill an air of tradition and charm to the working environment, and play a large role in our collective company history.
At Maersk Line headquarters in Copenhagen, scale models can be spotted all over, exhibited with great company pride. Just like their life-size counterparts, these models all have their place at Maersk Line – and so will the tiny Triple-E.
- See more at: http://www.maersklinesocial.com/scaled-down-the-triple-e-is-joining-maersk-in-miniature-form/#sthash.0dRcrYZ1.dpuf