Maersk ‘Triple E’: Introducing the world’s biggest ship

Eoghan Macguire, for CNN
Published 8:49 AM EDT, Wed June 26, 2013
The Triple E Class vessel will become the world's largest operational ship when Danish shipping giant Maersk takes delivery of the vessel on July 2. The ship's first official voyage will commence on July 15, according to Maersk.
The world's biggest ship —
The Triple E Class vessel will become the world's largest operational ship when Danish shipping giant Maersk takes delivery of the vessel on July 2. The ship's first official voyage will commence on July 15, according to Maersk.
Courtesy Maersk
The giant vessel has taken 440 days to build and will have enough space to transport 18,000 TEU containers -- that's enough to move 111 million pairs of sneakers or 182 million iPads in a single voyage.
Record cargo capacity —
The giant vessel has taken 440 days to build and will have enough space to transport 18,000 TEU containers -- that's enough to move 111 million pairs of sneakers or 182 million iPads in a single voyage.
Courtesy Maersk
Measuring 400 meters long, 59 meters wide and 73 meters high, the Triple E is taller than a 20-story building and 12 times longer than a blue whale.
Ocean giant —
Measuring 400 meters long, 59 meters wide and 73 meters high, the Triple E is taller than a 20-story building and 12 times longer than a blue whale.
Courtesy Maersk
Maersk has 20 Triple E vessels on order at a cost of $190 million each. The first batch is set to be delivered in 2013.
Busy order book —
Maersk has 20 Triple E vessels on order at a cost of $190 million each. The first batch is set to be delivered in 2013.
Courtesy Maersk
18,000 TEU containers may not mean much to the layman but it's enough to fill New York's Times Square. Or, to put it another way, if these containers were stacked one on top of the other they would reach 47 km into the sky -- Felix Baumgartner only reached 39km (128,100 feet) when jumping from the edge of space.
A towering concept —
18,000 TEU containers may not mean much to the layman but it's enough to fill New York's Times Square. Or, to put it another way, if these containers were stacked one on top of the other they would reach 47 km into the sky -- Felix Baumgartner only reached 39km (128,100 feet) when jumping from the edge of space.
Courtesy Maersk
A giant crane lowers a huge section of the first Maersk Triple E into place at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard in Okpo, South Korea.
Craning to see —
A giant crane lowers a huge section of the first Maersk Triple E into place at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard in Okpo, South Korea.
Courtesy Maersk
Roughly 60,000 tons of steel (enough for 8.4 Eiffel towers or 185,489 Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycles) has been used in the construction of the Triple E. Steel accounts for 98% of the vessel while the remaining 2% is made up of copper cabling, plastics, glass, reinforced fiber, carpets and other materials.
Made of steel —
Roughly 60,000 tons of steel (enough for 8.4 Eiffel towers or 185,489 Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycles) has been used in the construction of the Triple E. Steel accounts for 98% of the vessel while the remaining 2% is made up of copper cabling, plastics, glass, reinforced fiber, carpets and other materials.
Courtesy Maersk