The newbuild containership avalanche is now in full swing, and with it size records are being smashed on a monthly basis.
The delivery of the 399.99 m long
MSC Irina from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has set a new world record in the escalating megamax race among global carriers.
The 24,346 teu ship dethrones the 24,188 teu OOCL Spain, which was delivered last month by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering.
The MSC Irina is the first of six giants delivering from Yangzijiang. The ships feature a forward deckhouse and a 6/14/4 bay set-up, according to Alphaliner.
MSC, the world’s largest containerline, has also just taken delivery of the 24,116 teu MSC Tessa, the first of eight sister ships that will deliver from yards belonging to state-run CSSC Group in China this year.
The 14 megamax ships from CSSC and Yangzijiang are part of an MSC newbuilding program that includes more than 130 ships across various size classes.
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Alphaliner believes that MSC will be aiming for a fleet size of around 5.5m to 6m teu as the optimum size for a global standalone shipping line once its vessel-sharing agreement with Maersk comes to an end in early 2025.
The jumboisation of containerships has seen vessel capacities nearly quadruple in size this century. However, over the past year orders from global carriers have tended to be for ships in the 16,000 teu range, a more flexible size that can work across a range of tradelanes, rather than just the Asia-Europe route where today’s megamaxes are deployed.
