The largest container ships now afloat are about 400 metres long. How many standard 20-foot containers (TEU) can one of them carry?
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Answer
About 24,000 TEU
The very first container voyage, in 1956, carried just 58 boxes on a converted oil tanker sailing from New Jersey to Texas.
How to estimate it
Stack boxes in three directions. A 20-foot container is about 6 m long, so after the bow, stern and engine room roughly 48 fit along a 400 m hull. The ship is 61 m wide, enough for 24 containers at 2.4 m each. They are piled about 22 high, half below deck. 48 × 24 × 22 = 25,300, a little less where the hull narrows. The largest ships carry about 24,000 TEU.
Source: MSC; Lloyd's List
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