THE 18,000-TEU Mary Maersk, which like its Triple E sisters, is among the largest ships in the world, recently made an inaugural call at the Port of Qingdao, reports Xinhua.

These capable of stowing 23 rows of containers on deck are 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high including from keel to foretruck.

 Qingdao has 21 container dedicated berths, servicing more than 140 shipping services and 700 sailings a month to and from all around the world.

 As the second largest port in China for foreign trade, Qingdao handled 14.5 million TEU in 2012, which ranked fifth in China and eighth in the world. While Maersk's annual operating volume exceeds one million TEU in the period, topping all the carriers, which call at the port.