New Maersk ships increase their shoe-carrying capacity
08/06/2015
On announcing a deal with Korean manufacturer Daewoo to purchase 11 new ships with an option for six more, Maersk Line said each new vessel would have the capacity to carry 19,630 standard (20-foot) shipping containers. It explained that its aim is to “stay competitive” on Europe-to-Asia trade routes. It will take delivery of the new vessels in 2017 and 2018.
By way of comparison, it said the largest ships in its fleet at the moment, known as Triple Es, each have a capacity of 18,300 containers. And to illustrate what this means in terms of consumer products, it said this gives each ship the capacity to transport 114 million pairs of shoes at a time.
If each new ship has 7.25% more capacity, it suggests the volume of shoes Maersk Line could accommodate on one vessel would be more than 120 million pairs. Two journeys would be more than enough to ship the entire annual output of Europe’s largest footwear producing country, Italy. In 2014, for the first time since 2009, Italy’s footwear output dipped below 200 million pairs.
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