The largest Ocean Freight container ship in the world
#1 Ever Ace
Ever Ace is 399.9 meters (1312 feet) long and 61.5 meters (202 feet) wide. Her draft reaches 17 meters (55ft 9in), which is almost two feet deeper than that of her infamous cousin, the Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021 . Launched in July 2021, it is the largest Ocean Freight container ship in the world.
The Ever Ace is assembled in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries, but is owned by Taiwan’s Evergreen Shipping Co. and flies the Panamanian flag. The ship made her maiden voyage on July 29, 2001, when she set sail from the Chinese port of Qingdao. From there, the ship traveled to the port of Taipei in Taiwan, then to the port of Yantian in China, and finally ended its voyage in the port of Rotterdam for a visit to Europe.
The ship is considered the largest container ship as it has an estimated TEU capacity of 23,992 TEUs. However, as of today, the ship has not been loaded to its full capacity. However, in August 2021, the Ever Ace loaded 21,710 TEUs, the largest single-ship TEU load ever recorded.
Ever Ace is part of the Evergreen A class of container ships and will contain a total of 14 ships. Four of these are already in service (Ever Ace, Ever Act, Ever Aim, and Ever Alp) and 10 are under construction or planned (Ever Arm, Ever Art, Ever Apex, Ever Atop, Ever Alot, etc.).
#2 HMM Algeciras
The second largest container ship in the world. HMM Algeciras is also built in Korea, like the Ever Ace. Her builder is Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
Following Ever Ace, HMM Algeciras is 61.0 meters (200.1 ft) wide and 399.9 meters (1,312 ft) long, the same as Ever Ace. With a draft of 16.5 meters (54 ft 3 in), she is also slightly smaller than the Ever Ace.
HMM Algeciras flies the Panamanian flag and is owned by South Korean shipping group HMM. Her TEU capacity is just 28 TEUs short of the Ever Ace at 23,964 TEUs. Gross tonnage is 228,283 gross tons.
Known as an eco-friendly container ship, the ship is one of the most advanced in terms of technology. Her efficient engines and next-generation hull design help reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency.
The HMM Algeciras class of container ships consists of 12 sister ships, including HMM Copenhagen, HMM Hamburg, HMM Le Havre, HMM Gdansk, HMM Dublin, and HMM Helsinki.
#3 HMM Oslo
Coming in third on our list is the HMM Oslo containership – the same class as the HMM Algeciras class, but with slightly less capacity than TEUs. HMM Oslo has a TEU capacity of 23,820 TEU and a gross tonnage of 232,311 gross tons. In the same class of container ships, HMM Oslo is a sister ship with HMM Rotterdam, HMM Southampton, HMM Stockholm and HMM St. Petersburg.
They are all Panamanian-flagged, owned by South Korean shipping operator HMM, and built by Samsung Heavy Industries or Daewoo Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering.
HMM Oslo has a beam width of 61.5 meters (202 ft) and a length of 399.9 meters (1312 ft). Her maximum draft is 16.5 meters (54 ft 3 in).
The containership, along with her sister Ocean Freight ship, made her maiden voyage from South Korea to the UK’s Southampton port in 2020, passing through several ports in China, Singapore and Rotterdam.