On 7th June, the world's largest 24,000 TEU class container ship ‘COSCO Kawasaki 398’ built by Jiangsu Nantong Shipbuilding Enterprises successfully completed docking operation under the guarantee of Nantong Maritime Department.
‘COSCO Kawasaki 398’ has a length of 399.99m, a breadth of 61.30m, a depth of 33.20m, a deck area larger than 3 standard football fields, a deadweight of 220,000 tonnes, and a capacity of 24,188 TEUs, which is equivalent to the loading capacity of more than 240 trains when fully loaded. This ship type is the new generation of ultra-large container ship type with the largest loading capacity in the world, and also the largest container ship type with the largest container capacity in the navigation of the Yangtze River waterway. It integrates the cutting-edge technology in the field of ship construction, which is safe, reliable, energy-saving and environmentally friendly, and with high degree of intelligence, and a number of indexes have reached the world's leading level.
It is reported that since the first 24,000 TEU container ship COSCO Kawasaki 335 left the dock on 15 November 2022, a total of five vessels of the same type have been delivered from Nantong one after another in a safe trial voyage, and the COSCO Kawasaki 398 that left the dock is also the last in the series of orders. This time, COSCO Kawasaki 398 is the last vessel in this series of orders.
Why don't big ships build 400 metres?
Have you ever wondered why the length of this ‘giant’ ship is 399.99 metres, and why this short 0.01 metre is not enough to make up 400 metres when the ship is being built? Is China's current construction technology limited? Or other reasons?
According to Jiangsu maritime department staff introduction, international large container ships often shuttle between the major oceans, in order to reduce the voyage and freight, generally in the shipping process will take the shortest distance navigation, so there is a canal, which is the most representative of the Suez Canal, which greatly shortens the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean voyage, compared with the Cape of Good Hope around the Cape of Good Hope can be shortened by more than 6,000 kilometres! Compared with the route around the Cape of Good Hope, it can shorten the voyage by more than 6,000 kilometres and save 10 to 40 days of sailing time.
Due to the limited length and width of the Suez Canal, in order to prevent the canal from being blocked, the canal administration has implemented a series of rules related to passage, one of which is that the length of the ship should be less than 400 metres, of course, ships of more than 400 metres can pass through the canal, but they need to go through a special approval procedure, which will inevitably delay the shipping time and reduce the efficiency of the shipping industry.
https://www.cnss.com.cn/html/sdbd/20240611/353708.html
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