Recently, models of two ultra-large container ships, GIGAMAX and TERRAMAX, have come out. According to data, the carrying capacity of the two ultra-large container ships is as high as 28,840 TEU and 32,230 TEU, respectively. The world container ship rankings are about to be refreshed again.
Specifically, the GIGAMAX ship has a length of 425 meters, a molded width of 63.3 meters, and a molded depth of 33.2 meters; the TERRAMAX ship has a length of 454 meters, a molded width of 66.1 meters, and a molded depth of 36 meters. Based on construction costs, fuel costs and other operating costs (including tolls, pilotage fees, etc.) and emission reduction efficiency, the GIGAMAX ship and its variants (GIGAMAX-25 and GIGAMAX-26, with 25 and 26 columns respectively) may be One of the largest ships suitable for the shipping industry.
When the container ship of 18,000 TEU becomes the "standard configuration", the container ship of 32,000 TEU is close at hand. Where is the "ceiling" of the large-scale ship?
Why do we have to build big ships?
In recent years, the rapid increase in global freight demand has promoted the continuous development of ships in the direction of large-scale. The carrying capacity of container ships has grown from the initial 750TEU to over 20,000TEU today. According to Alphaliner's statistics, there are currently about 139 18000TEU-24000TEU-type ships in service, and another 50 or so ships of similar scale are under construction or in order. When more and more large ships enter the market, it is not difficult to see that the advantages of large ships are very obvious.
The first is to save costs. On the one hand, the cost of a single container ship is not greatly affected by the volume of containers. A 13,000TEU container ship on the market sells for 120-130 million U.S. dollars, while a 24,000TEU container ship sells for 1.5 When the price is similar to US$100 million, it is natural to buy big and not small; on the other hand, the fuel consumption of large ships is not much different from that of small ships. The larger the container ship, the smaller the average fuel consumption per TEU.
The second is market competition. When the shipping companies of the major alliances start to build large ships to expand their capacity, the competitive advantages of shipping companies that lack capacity or are too small will be gradually weakened, and their living space will be further squeezed.
Is the bigger the container ship, the better?
Although there are many advantages of large-scale ships, more and more people are starting to "stop" the large-scale ships. Why?
One is that the larger the ship, the higher the requirements for the captain and seafarers. Judging from the current situation, marine accidents are frequent, and the crew's ability to deal with accidents in the face of large ships is not mature. If people who are used to driving cars suddenly drive trucks, risks naturally follow.
Second, as the ship becomes larger, the losses incurred in the event of risks will also increase. In recent years, ship accidents have caused thousands of containers to fall into the water frequently. Once the ship encounters an accident and cannot reach the destination on time, all the cargo on the ship will be stranded at the same time, causing congestion in the supply chain.
The third is that large ships have high requirements for waterways and water depths, so they can only be launched on some routes. Taking the current frequent trade routes as an example, the Suez Canal has a water surface width of 345 meters to 280 meters, a depth of 22.5 meters, and a maximum tonnage of 210,000 tons; the Panama Canal has a width of 304 meters to 152 meters and a height limit of 57.91 meters. , The requirements for the waterway are getting higher and higher. Once there is a turmoil, "black swan" incidents like the congestion of the Suez Canal will follow one after another.
The big ship is coming, is the port ready?
In May, the Suez Canal announced the widening of its waterway. Today, as the trend of large-scale ships is becoming more and more obvious, this seems to be a decision that most ports must make.
When more and more large ships berth, the pressure on the port is increasing day by day. Some ports with insufficient water depth are directly squeezed out of the first battlefield, while the remaining ports need to quickly solve the upgrading of terminal equipment, channel expansion, and storage yard expansion. problem. You know, these "big guys" on the dock are not cheap. The big ship is here, although the port is reluctant to let go of this big business, but the cost of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars at every turn requires careful consideration.
In addition, the arrival of large ships has put forward higher requirements for port operations. From the perspective of economic benefits, it is the best choice for the port to unload container ships of about 7,500 TEU, and once this volume is exceeded Port operations will face challenges, and the waiting time for cargo owners will also be extended indefinitely. From this perspective, the large-scale ship will transmit the pressure of the shipping company to both the cargo owner and the port.
There is nothing wrong with large-scale ships. Under the circumstances that the port’s unloading capacity and channel conditions allow, the investment of large-scale container ships is the best solution to the current heat of container transportation. However, under the current market environment, the large-scale ships should still be gradually increased. , Step on the balance between flexible market demand and future trends.