World's Largest Cargo Ship

**Jeff** · 12-04-2007

How Wal Mart gets all its stuff from China. Get a load of this ship!
15,000 containers and a 207' beam! And look at the crew size for a
ship longer than a US aircraft carrier which has a complement of 5,000
men and officers.

Think it's big enough? Notice that 207' beam means it was NOT
designed for the Panama or Suez Canal. It is strictly transpacific.
Check out the cruise speed, 31 knots means the goods arrive 4 days
before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on a
China-to-California run. So this behemoth is hugely competitive
carrying perishable goods.

This ship was built in three, perhaps as many as five sections. The
sections floated together and then welded. The ship is named Emma
Maersk. The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has
11 crane rigs that can operate simultaneously.

Additional info:
Country of origin - Denmark
Length - 1,302 ft
Width - 207 ft
Net cargo - 123,200 tons
Engine - 14 in-line cylinders diesel engine (110,000 BHP) Cruise
Speed - 31 knots, Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 ft3
container)
Crew - 13 people First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006 Construction cost - US
$145,000,000+
Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water resistance
and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year .