Could 27,500 teu vessels redefine container ship capacity?

Container ship capacity could move beyond today’s 24,000 teu megamax vessels as rising fuel and carbon costs strengthen the case for even larger ships, according to Alphaliner.

For about a decade it looked as if the ‘megamax-24’ with its intake of around 24,000 teu would remain the largest container ship class ‘forever’.

Alphaliner however believes that orders for vessels of an even larger type could be placed in the foreseeable future: Increased cost pressure might prompt some of the largest carriers to reconsider their fleet strategies and opt for a novel ship type that is slightly larger than the current capacity record holders.

Even compared to a fairly recent point in time such as the beginning of 2020, a mere few weeks before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its farreaching effects on global supply chains, the liner fleet has grown massively. Within this relatively short period, global boxship capacity has soared from 23.2 Mteu to 34.1 Mteu today, up 47%.

On the back of this massive industry growth, most of the world’s top carriers could theoretically deploy at least one ‘full set’ of next-generation container ships on the East – West mainlines as of 2030. The sheer scale of the three main container line alliances would make this possible.

A look at the top carriers’ fleet structures and orderbooks, as well as their alliance network setups, however suggests: One of the big shipping lines would likely profit more than others from being the first mover.

Why opt for ships bigger than the 24,000 teu ’megamax-24’?

Especially on very long haul East – West mainlines, factors like the increasing price of fuel and the introduction of carbon emissions taxes will give bigger ships a competitive edge in the long run.

Five years ago, Alphaliner presented the hypothetical concept of a 425+ m long ‘gigamax’ container ship that would be one hold (or: two 40-foot bays) longer than today’s biggest ‘megamax’ ships.

Source: Alphaliner