Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Largest Ship In the World Is Being Built In Korea

Posted by timothy on from the and-vice-versa dept.

HughPickens.com writes Alastair Philip Wiper writes that at 194 feet wide and 1,312 feet long, the Matz Maersk Triple E is the largest ship ever built, capable of carrying 18,000 20-foot containers. Its propellers weigh 70 tons apiece and it is too big for the Panama Canal, though it can shimmy through the Suez. A U-shaped hull design allows more room below deck, providing capacity for 18,000 shipping containers arranged in 23 rows – enough space to transport 864 million bananas. The Triple-E is constructed from 425 pre-fabricated segments, making up 21 giant "megablock" cross sections. Most of the 955,250 liters of paint used on each ship is in the form of an anti- corrosive epoxy, pre-applied to each block. Finally, a polyurethane topcoat of the proprietary Maersk brand color "Hardtop AS-Blue 504" is sprayed on.

Twenty Triple-E class container ships have been commissioned by Danish shipping company Maersk Lines for delivery by 2015. The ships are being built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering factory in the South Korean port of Opko. The shipyard, about an hour from Busan in the south of the country, employs about 46,000 people, and "could reasonably be described as the worlds biggest Legoland," writes Wiper. "Smiling workers cycle around the huge shipyard as massive, abstractly over proportioned chunks of ships are craned around and set into place." The Triple E is just one small part of the output of the shipyard, as around 100 other vessels including oil rigs are in various stages of completion at the any time." The vessels will serve ports along the northern-Europe-to-Asia route, many of which have had to expand to cope with the ships' size. "You don't feel like you're inside a boat, it's more like a cathedral," Wiper says. "Imagine this space being full of consumer goods, and think about how many there are on just one ship. Then think about how many are sailing round the world every day. It's like trying to think about infinity."

23 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. waste of effort by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't these fools know that everything is either 3D printed on site or sent by delivery drone these days?

  2. Ho-lee-crap by Richard_at_work · · Score: 5, Insightful

    20 of the worlds largest vessels, built and delivered in a couple of years, now *thats* a production line worthy of the name!

    The size of the vessel may be whats being pushed as the impressive thing here, but really its the fact that they can push out 13 of these at a time - instant fleet renewal! I can't think of one western shipyard which comes close to that capacity - even the two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers are having to be built one after each other due to shipyard limitations, and thats just two vessels, not 13!

    1. Re:Ho-lee-crap by 228e2 · · Score: 3, Funny

      All that mirco-ing in Warcraft/Starcraft is paying off.

      --
      Since when does being a Socialist mean 'someone who has a different opinion than me'?
    2. Re:Ho-lee-crap by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hey, someone has to keep the U.S. and Europe supplied with electronics that we used to make here.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    3. Re:Ho-lee-crap by gyepi · · Score: 4, Informative

      The dimensions of the Prelude FLNG is 488m x 74m (1,601ft x 243 ft), and thus it is way larger vessel than the Triple E. The hull was already launched last year. The only reason it is not the largest ship is that it does not have its own engines to propel itself.

      --
      Attitudes make the difference between Space and Time: we want to MAX our temporal, and MIN our spatial extension.
    4. Re:Ho-lee-crap by hackertourist · · Score: 4, Informative

      Discovery Channel aired a series of programmes on this project last year. IIRC the main shipyard can house 2 or 3 of these in parallel, not 13. Each ship spends only a few months in this yard (final assembly only). Delivery tempo is one a month.
      Modules are built at various other shipyards.

    5. Re:Ho-lee-crap by stealth_finger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not really. A cargo ship of that size is as complex as an aircraft carrier.

      Considering this ship is designed to hold however many thousand cargo containers and the crew to support it, it needs a lot of empty space inside. Considering an aircraft carrier is essentially a city at sea, complete with nuclear reactors, aircraft hangars, repair shops, weapons bays, accommodation for a few thousand and mess facilities for the aforementioned plus its own empty space storage areas. I'm willing to bet the aircraft carrier is still more complex in terms of design and construction.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    6. Re:Ho-lee-crap by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's bullshit that they're building them in Korea, though.

      We have perfectly capable, world-class shipyards in Denmark, practically begging to take on these kinds of tasks. In the old days, when Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller still ran the company, these orders would have gone to Danish companies. No more, now everything is outsourced to the lowest bidder.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    7. Re:Ho-lee-crap by nabsltd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Considering this ship is designed to hold however many thousand cargo containers and the crew to support it, it needs a lot of empty space inside.

      According to TFA, the crew while at sea is 15 people, which is nothing compared to the 5,000 or so on a fully-populated-for-war aircraft carrier.

      When you add in the fact that a warship is supposed to be able to go for at least weeks at a time without any replenishment, needs a much stronger hull for its size, has a lot more electronics that need special cabling and conduits, etc., commercial vessels are actually quite easy to build in comparison.

    8. Re:Ho-lee-crap by dj245 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      No, when you are working on such a massive scale they really aren't simpler, the engineering and sheer weights alone are astronomical.

      Not really, the numbers are larger but the math is very well understood. This is a very mature industry, perhaps the oldest manufacturing industry in the world. People have been building boats for thousands of years. Ship's aren't redesigned every time one is built either. The bulk of a ship is the exact same "U" profile. Design it once, copy it all down the length of the ship. The bow and the stern are the only complex parts, but contribute little to strength. The bow and stern are generally proven designs which are taken "off the shelf" and adapted to the application with only slight changes. Chopping off the back end of a ship (accommodation, engineering, and propulsion area), refurbishing it, and welding it to a brand new ship hull is not uncommon. Unlike with pleasure craft and cars, "style" has approximately 0 design influence in large ships. Everyone is honing in on the most hydrodynamic designs and you can't copyright the math which describes the curves on a ship.

      I'm onboard the Tolteca right now, built in 1954/1955. When we were in drydock, the only difference between this ship and ships built much more recently is the distinct lack of a bulbous bow, and the use of diesel propulsion engines instead of a steam turbine.

      --
      Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
    9. Re:Ho-lee-crap by MightyYar · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This is exactly right, and is why the US continues to build new nuclear subs at the slowest... possible... rate...

      If you are a business, you want your capital returned as soon as possible. If you are a peacetime military, you just want to retain capability in the cheapest possible way. Totally different goals. During WW2, you saw the goals of industry and the military align, and it was kind of breathtaking.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    10. Re:Ho-lee-crap by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 3, Informative

      It wasn't long ago that South Korea wasn't so advanced, and Daewoo was corrupt.

      The national identity has been trying to raise standards in everything, but it still has horrible reminders of its recent past. The Sewoul disaster where hundreds died needlessly, the subway crash where 200 people died, the recent collapse of a sidewalk grate where 16 concert goers just... died.

      By "national identity" I mean the health, safety and anticorruption standards are considered part of the national identity and distinct from the standards of many neighbouring countries.

      In the past 20 years Korea has been rebuilding everything and has good standards. These stories are making the country obsessive over safety and quality, but there's still junk from the recent past, or people who are wrapped in nepotism and corruption who shouldn't be responsible for anything involving public safety, but can't be removed.

      As long as the ship builders are not part of that past, then it's a boon for the country and another milestone for Korea's advancement.

    11. Re:Ho-lee-crap by Talderas · · Score: 4, Informative

      7/1/31 - 12 Battleships, 3 Carriers, 20 Cruisers, 87 Destroyers, 56 Submarines, 308 Total Active Ships
      9/1/37 - 15 Battleships, 3 Carriers, 27 Cruisers, 111 Destroyers, 52 Submarines, 335 Total Active Ships
      6/30/38 - 15 Battleships, 5 Carriers, 32 Cruisers, 112 Destroyers, 54 Submarines, 380 Total Active Ships
      6/30/39 - 15 Battleships, 5 Carriers, 36 Cruisers, 127 Destroyers, 58 Submarines, 394 Total Active Ships
      6/30/40 - 15 Battleships, 6 Carriers, 37 Cruisers, 185 Destroyers, 64 Submarines, 478 Total Active Ships
      12/7/41 - 17 Battleships, 7 Carriers, 1 Escort Carriers, 37 Cruisers, 171 Destroyers, 112 Submarines, 790 Total Active Ships
      12/31/42 - 19 Battleships, 4 Carriers, 12 Escort Carriers, 39 Cruisers, 224 Destroyers, 133 Submarines, 1782 Total Active Ships (growth here was in an explosion of Patrol Boats)
      12/31/43 - 21 Battleships, 19 Carriers, 35 Escort Carriers, 48 Cruisers, 332 Destroyers, 172 Submarines, 3699 Total Active Ships (Frigates, PT Boats and Amphibious Craft covers most of the growth)
      12/31/44 - 23 Battleships, 25 Carriers, 65 Escort Carriers, 61 Cruisers, 367 Destroyers, 230 Submarines, 6084 Total Active Ships (Amphibious Craft and Auxiliaries covered most of the growth)
      8/14/45 - 23 Battleships, 28 Carriers, 71 Escort Carriers, 72 Cruisers, 377 Destroyers, 232 Submarines, 6768 Total Active Ships (Amphibious Craft and Auxiliaries covered most of the growth)
      6/30/46 - 10 Battleships, 15 Carriers, 10 Escort Carriers, 36 Cruisers, 145 Destroyers, 85 Submarines, 1248 Total Active Ships
      6/30/50 - 1 Battleship, 11 Carriers, 4 Escort Carriers, 13 Cruisers, 137 Destroyers, 72 Submarines, 634 Total Active Ships
      6/30/55 - 3 Battleships, 21 Carriers, 3 Escort Carriers, 17 Cruisers, 249 Destroyers, 108 Submarines,1 SSG/SSBNS, 1030 Total Active Ships
      6/30/60 - 23 Carriers, 13 Cruisers, 226 Destroyers, 106 Submarines, 7 SSG/SSBNS, 812 Total Active Ships
      6/30/65 - 25 Carriers, 27 Cruisers, 221 Destroyers, 104 Submarines, 30 SSG/SSBNS, 880 Total Active Ships
      6/30/70 - 19 Carriers, 31 Cruisers, 155 Destroyers, 103 Submarines, 41 SSG/SSBNS, 743 Total Active Ships
      6/30/75 - 15 Carriers, 27 Cruisers, 102 Destroyers, 75 Submarines, 41 SSBNS, 559 Total Active Ships
      9/30/80 - 13 Carriers, 26 Cruisers, 94 Destroyers, 82 Submarines, 40 SSBNS, 530 Total Active Ships
      9/30/85 - 13 Carriers, 30 Cruisers, 69 Destroyers, 100 Submarines, 37 SSBNS, 571 Total Active Ships
      9/30/90 - 13 Carriers, 43 Cruisers, 57 Destroyers, 93 Submarines, 33 SSBNS, 570 Total Active Ships
      9/30/95 - 12 Carriers, 32 Cruisers, 47 Destroyers, 83 Submarines, 16 SSBNS, 392 Total Active Ships
      9/30/00 - 12 Carriers, 27 Cruisers, 54 Destroyers, 56 Submarines, 18 SSBNS, 318 Total Active Ships
      9/30/05 - 12 Carriers, 23 Cruisers, 46 Destroyers, 54 Submarines, 14 SSBN, 4 SSGN, 282 Total Active Ships
      9/30/10 - 11 Carrires, 22 Cruisers, 59 Destroyers, 53 Submarines, 14 SSBN, 4 SSGN, 288 Total Active Ships

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  3. That's bananas! by smileytshirt · · Score: 5, Funny

    enough space to transport 864 million bananas

    I'm so happy to see we have finally converted to the banana scale. I've been waiting for this since horsepower was invented!

    --
    www.shortman.com.au - top shorted stocks on the ASX
  4. 864 million bananas by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Funny

    enough space to transport 864 million bananas

    Yes, I too calculate volumes in MegaBananas.

    Except for astronavegation, where I base all my calculations on Earth's volume of 1.086 PetaBananas.

    1. Re:864 million bananas by 91degrees · · Score: 3, Informative

      It is a convenient standard unit. Inexpensive and tasty. Can be used for measuring mass, volume, friction (obviously), and radiactivity (due to its high potassium content). A chest X-ray is equivalent to 70,000 bananas.

  5. Largest in service, not largest ever built by jratcliffe · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Maersk E class is the largest currently in service, and the largest container ships ever built, but they're definitely not the largest ships ever built. On either length, or gross tonnage, there have been a number of tankers which are quite a bit bigger, although none are still in service.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  6. 59m width and 400m long by jcdr · · Score: 3, Informative

    FTFY

  7. Fun facts by hackertourist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Triple-E is unusual in several aspects apart from its size.
    1. It has 2 engines instead of one. This improves packaging (less volume lost to the engine room), mainly because the engines are shorter (8 cylinders in line instead of 14). Earlier ships had one engine to reduce complexity.
    2. It's slower, with an operational speed of 35 km/h (down from 45 km/h of its predecessor). This saves fuel.

  8. "Okpo" not "Opko". by Zanadou · · Score: 4, Informative

    Both this and the original source at Wired have the name of the Korean place wrong, it's "Okpo", not "Opko".

    Signed, your local friendly Korean geography nazi.

  9. Cracked up when I saw this photo by Pollux · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did anyone else think that, when they saw the second photo on the Wired.com article that some awkward conversation took place prior to the photo that went something like this:

    Photographer: "Tell your worker there to look busy. I need photos for the article."
    Manager: "What do you want him to do?"
    Photographer: "I don't know! What does that machine do over there?"
    Manager: "That's our automated steel blaster."
    Photographer: "That sounds important. Have your guy go over there and operate it."
    Manager: "But it's fully automated. Everything's set the way it needs to be."
    Photographer: "But I need -something-! Just have him stand next to it and look like he's reconfiguring it."
              Manager to Technician: "Technician, go over to the panel and look busy."
              Technician: "Sir, I don't work on this machine. And there are signs all over it saying 'Do Not Touch!'"
              Manager: "I don't care! This American fool needs a photo!"
              Technician: "How foolish! The entire system is automated! Did you tell him this?"
              Manager: "Of course I did! He didn't listen."
              Technician: "What am I supposed to do then?"
              Manager: "I don't know! Just go over there and look like you're pushing a button."
              Technician: "But I don't want to break the machine! It is a masterpiece!"
              Manager: "Fine, fine, just, um, just point at the button with your finger. And touch the button. Yes, yes, that looks convincing."
              Technician: "Does it really look like I'm pressing it?"
              Manager: "No, you look stupid. But just stay there, like that, alright?"
              Technician: "Stupid Americans. No wonder their economy sucks."

  10. Re:Can carry 20,000 containers by PPalmgren · · Score: 4, Informative

    These ships don't work like that. If anything, it will usually carry less than the max. The rating is based off of a arbitrary weight for each container which is about half the max weight per container. If overloaded or loaded incorrectly, they can list or even split. Here's two pictures of things that can happen:

    http://www.railroad-line.com/f...
    http://shariaunveiled.files.wo...
    http://www.marineinsight.com/w...

  11. Re:Largest single emitter of CO2 on Earth? by iggymanz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The world's 15 largest ships do emit more sulfur than all the world's automobiles. http://www.gizmag.com/shipping...

    However for carbon dioxide they only emit a third as much as all the world's cars.