Debate over huge container ships
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The blocking of the Suez Canal by a 220,000-tonne ship is bringing into question whether vessels have outgrown the infrastructure needed to support them
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CONTAINER GROWTH TEU* 
1968 Encounter Bay 1,530 
1972 Hamburg Express 2,950 
1980 Neptune Garnet 4,100 
1984 American New York 4,600
1996 Regina Maersk 6,400 
1997 Susan Maersk 8,000+
2002 Charlotte Maersk 8,890
2003 Anna Maersk 9,000+
2005 Gjertrud Maersk 10,000+
2006 Emma Maersk 11,000+
2012 Marco Polo (CMA CGM)  16,000+
2013 Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller 18,270
2015 MSC Oscar 19,000+
2017 OOCL Hong Kong 21,413
2020 Ultra Large Container Ship 24,000

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Container capacity has increased 1,500% since 1968 and almost doubled
over last decade
                     
Size comparison: London Eye; Pyramid of Khufu; Eiffel Tower; Empire State Building
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GLOBAL MARITIME TRADE
12,000 
10,000
8,000 
6,000 
4,000 
2,000
0
      1970 80 90 2000 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

(Selected years, million tonnes loaded)

More than 90% of global trade is moved by sea

Tanker 
Main bulk 
Other

1970: 2,605

2009: 7,857 – wake of global financial crisis

2019: 11,076

*Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit – standard unit for describing ship’s cargo capacity
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Sources: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS),
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) © GRAPHIC NEWS