Demand for behemoths evident by delivery CMA CGM's 16,020-TEUer

MARSEILLE's CMA CGM has taken delivery of its first 16,020-TEU newbuilding, the CMA CGM Marco Polo, now the world's biggest containership, demoting Maersk's E-class vessels from the front rank.

Next June the situation will again be contested when the mighty Danes return with the launch of their EEE-class ships, which will be able to carry 18,270 TEU, notes Alphaliner.

The 395-metre-long and 53.6-metre-wide Marco Polo was built by the DSME shipyard at Okpo, and two more vessels of the same class are scheduled to join the French shipping line's fleet in April 2013.

The three ships were originally part of an order for eight 13,830 TEU units ordered by CMA CGM in July 2007. By 2011, the carrier upgraded the size of the last three ships on order to 16,000 TEU, with two more 40 bays and one additional row of containers added to the original design.

The scramble for bigger ships is not losing steam despite the ever louder warnings about overcapacity in the container shipping market amid a slowing global economy.

Yang Ming is ordering five new 14,000-TEU containerships for delivery in 2015, with an option for five more ships. This has triggered the process of selecting leasing companies or non-operating owners to finance them, said the Alphaliner report.

Yang Ming's largest vessels to date are 8,500 TEU units, although its CKYH alliance partners, Cosco and Hanjin, already operate 13,000 and 14,000 TEUers. This leaves "K" Line as the only main east-west carrier with no immediate plans to deploy ships of more than 10,000 TEU. The Japanese carrier's largest ships are 9,500 TEU units.

UASC is also reported to be in discussions with shipyards for ships of 16,000 TEU, while CSAV are seeking to order ten 9,000-TEU ships.

CCNI is also believed to have secured two 9,300 TEU newbuildings from the Hanjin Subic shipyard under a long-term charter arrangement. CCNI's largest operated ships are 4,600-5,800 TEU units.

"These new orders will add to the existing orderbook of 3.5 million TEU, of which almost two million TEU expected to be delivered by the end of 2013. The supply growth in 2013, currently estimated at 9 - 9.5 per cent after adjusting for anticipated slippage and scrapping, is expected to be the industry's most daunting challenge next year," the report said.

By 2015, 16 carriers will operate containerships of more than 12,000 TEU, compared to nine carriers at present.