Maersk makes waves with massive container vessels

"The Triple-E vessels feature innovative technology, leading to energy efficiency and environmental performance.

"The unprecedented dimensions provide economies of scale, while the unique design features enable the vessel to emit 50 percent less carbon dioxide per container moved than the current average on the Asia-Europe route," said Williams.

In 1968, Maersk Line had just a single non-containerized service connecting Asia and Europe, which consisted of 12 sailings a year. Now, its vessels call at all major ports in China, offering a wide range of weekly sailings to all parts of the world.

About two-thirds of its cargo on the Asia-Europe service go to or from China.

Chen Xuyuan, the chairman of Shanghai International Port Group, said the Port of Shanghai, the world's largest by throughput, has the facilities and experience to serve this new vessel.

"Large Chinese ports are proficient in receiving and loading container goods, thus they are capable of handling large-scale ships," Chen said.

"From a long-term perspective, we will benefit from the efficiency and environmental features of the new vessels to further strengthen our port capacity to ship more Chinese products to major markets in Europe."

Deployed on the Asia-Europe route, the Triple-E vessel will touch four Chinese ports in the loop: Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian and Hong Kong. However, Maersk's move is accompanied by concerns about the prospects for declining global trade, including the question of whether China's exports can remain stable, as foreign orders for its goods have dropped amid prolonged global weakness.

"Maersk has the largest market share of any container shipping line on the Asia-Europe route, moving 20 percent of the container cargo from Asia to Europe and 18 percent in the opposite direction.

"It makes up one-quarter of Maersk Line's business; therefore, we put the new vessel on this route," said Brian Kristensen, vice-president of the Far East Asia liner operations cluster for Maersk Line.

Han Yichao, an industrial analyst with Changjiang Securities Co, said super-sized container ships mean lower freight rates and more business opportunities.

Han said that fuel-guzzling, high-maintenance container ships are no longer required for maritime transportation, where competition is vicious.

"Large container ships are more likely to dominate the developing trends of the global shipping business," said Han.