Emma Mærsk

Container ship Emma Mærsk in Aarhus, 5 September 2006
Name: Emma Maersk
Owner: Moller-Maersk
Operator: A. P. Moller-Maersk Group
Port of registry: Taarbæk,  Denmark
Builder: Odense Steel Shipyard Ltd, Denmark
Laid down: 20 January 2006[1]
Launched: 18 May 2006
Acquired: 31 August 2006
In service: 31 August 2006
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Mærsk E-class container ship
Tonnage:
  • 170,794 GT
  • 55,396 NT
  • 156,907 DWT
Length: 397 m (1,302 ft)
Beam: 56 m (184 ft)
Draught: 16.02 m (52.6 ft)
Depth: 30 m (98 ft) (deck edge to keel)
Propulsion: 81 MW (109,000 hp) Wärtsilä 14RT-Flex96c plus 30 MW (40,000 hp) from five Caterpillar 8M32
Speed: 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph)
Capacity:
Crew: 13, with room for 30
Notes: [2]

Emma Mærsk is the first container ship in the E-class of eight owned by the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group. When launched in 2006 she was the largest container ship ever built, and in 2010 she and her seven sister ships were among the longest container ships. Officially, she is able to carry around 11,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) or 14,770 TEU depending on definition. In May 2010, her sister ship Ebba Mærsk set a record of 15,011 TEU in Tanger-Med, Tangiers.[3]

History

The Emma Mærsk was built at the Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. In June 2006, during construction, welding work caused a fire within the superstructure.[4] It spread rapidly through the accommodation section and bridge, which delayed her completion by six to seven weeks.

She was named in a ceremony on 12 August 2006, after Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller's late wife, Emma. She set sail on her maiden voyage on 8 September 2006 at 02:00 hours from Aarhus, calling at Gothenburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Algeciras, the Suez Canal, and arrived in Singapore on 1 October 2006 at 20:05 hours. She sailed the next day for Yantian in Shenzhen, then Kobe, Nagoya, arriving at Yokohama on 10 October 2006, and returning via Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Tanjung Pelepas, the Suez Canal, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Gothenburg to Aarhus, arriving on 11 November 2006 at 16:00 hours.[5]

She appeared in headlines prior to Christmas 2006, when she was dubbed SS Santa because she was bound for the United Kingdom from China loaded with Christmas goods. The return journey to southern China was loaded with UK waste for recycling.[6]

Her appearance in the news prompted the State Environmental Protection Administration in China to promise to "closely watch the progress of investigation into the dumping of garbage in south China by Britain". Ministry officials added that no official approval had been given to any company in the area to import waste.[7]

In 2008, the ship was featured on an episode of the television documentary series Mighty Ships, during a voyage between Malaysia and Spain.[8]

In 2011, the National Bank of Denmark issued a 20 DKK commemorative coin for her.[9]

Going eastwards on 1 February 2013, she suffered a damaged stern thruster and took on so much water in the Suez Canal that she became unmaneuvrable. Tugs, anchors and the wind[10] took her to Port Said to offload 13,500 containers, drain her and be investigated by divers. She has not been in danger of sinking.[11][12][13][14][15]

On 15 February 2013, Maersk Line confirmed that she was about to leave Port Said under tow to a yard for further assessment and repair.[16] On 25 February she reached the yard of Palermo, Sicily, where she was scheduled to stay for four months.[17] In August 2013, she was in service again[18] after a DKK 250 million (roughly US$44.5m) repair.[19]

Capacity

Originally Maersk reported a capacity of 11,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) as the maximum capacity of fully loaded 14 ton containers, according to Maersk company's then method of calculating capacity,[20] which, at her introduction into service, was about 1,400 more containers than any other ship.[21] However, Maersk also acknowledges the standard method of defining capacity, stating 14,770 TEU.[22]

By normal calculations, she has a capacity significantly greater than reported—between 13,500 and 15,200 TEU.[23][24] The difference between the official and estimated numbers is because Maersk calculates the capacity of a container ship by weight (in this case, 14 tons/container), i.e. 11,000+ containers,[25] of which 1,000 can be refrigerated containers.[26]

Other companies calculate capacity according to the maximum number of containers that can be carried irrespective of weight, always greater than the number calculated by the Maersk method. As of 2012, the E-class is still the largest by full-weight 14-tonne capacity. The Marco Polo can carry 10,000 14-t containers, 16,020 if not fully loaded.[27][28]

On 21 February 2011, Maersk ordered a family of ten even larger ships from Daewoo, the Maersk Triple E class, with a capacity of 18,000 containers. A further ten ships were ordered in June 2011. The first was delivered in 2013.[29][30]

Engine and hull

She is powered by a Wärtsilä-Sulzer 14RTFLEX96-C engine, the world's largest single diesel unit, weighing 2,300 tonnes and capable of 81 MW (109,000 hp) when burning 14,000 litres (3,600 US gal)[31] of heavy fuel oil per hour. At economical speed, fuel consumption is 0.260 bs/hp·hour (1,660 gal/hour).[32] She has features to lower environmental damage, including exhaust heat recovery and cogeneration.[33] Some of the exhaust gases are returned to the engine to improve economy and lower emissions,[34] and some are passed through a steam generator which then powers a Peter Brotherhood steam turbine and electrical generators. This creates an electrical output of 8.5 MW,[35] equivalent to about 12% of the main engine power output. Some of this steam is used directly as shipboard heat.[36] Five diesel generators together produce 20.8 MW,[35] giving a total electric output of 29 MW.[26] Two 9 MW electric motors augment the power on the main propeller shaft.[35]

Two bow and two stern thrusters provide port manoeuvrability, and two pairs of stabilizer fins reduce rolling.[35] A special silicone-based paint, instead of biocides used by much of the industry, keeps barnacles off of the hull.[21] This increases her efficiency by reducing drag while also protecting the ocean from biocides that may leak. The paint is credited with lowering the water drag enough to save 1,200 tonnes of fuel per year.[37] The ship has a bulbous bow, a standard feature for cargo ships.

The turning diameter at 44 km/h (24 knots) is 1.50 km (0.81 nmi). The engine is near midship to make best use of the rigidity of the hull and to maximize capacity. When banking 20 degrees, the bridge sways 35 metres.[38]

Sailing schedules

Her regular round trip is between northern Europe and the far east via the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, calling at Ningbo, Xiamen, Hong Kong (westbound), Yantian (westbound), Algeciras (westbound), Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Algeciras (eastbound), Yantian (eastbound), Hong Kong (eastbound), and Ningbo.[5][39][40]

As of April 2011, the schedule included Gdańsk, Aarhus, and Gothenburg.[41]

Criticism

She and similar ships have been criticised for burning bunker fuel, which has a high sulphur content,[42] 2.5 to 4.5%, over 2,000 times more than allowed in automotive fuel.[42]

In internationally agreed Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) fuel with a maximum of 1.0% [2010] sulphur is used, to be reduced to 0.1% in 2015. Reduced sulphur in the fuel affects the lubrificatory properties, which could lead to lower reliability, and higher costs for maintenance and repair in addition to purchasing the more expensive low-sulphur fuel.

In Europe, new rules regarding the operation of marine shipping will require ships to burn cleaner fuel. MARPOL Regulation 14 will limit global sulphur content to 0.5% in 2020. However, a review of global fuel availability due to conclude in 2018 may delay the new regulations by five years, until 2025.[43]

References

  1. ↑ American Bureau of Shipping: Official Registry Number D4150
  2. ↑ "ABS Record: Emma Maersk". American Bureau of Shipping. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  3. ↑ Julie Holt (28 May 2010). "Ebba Mærsk beats world record". Ingeniøren. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Miranda Max. "The Secret Story Of Building The World’s Largest Container Ship", shippinginsouthafrica.wordpress.com; accessed 5 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Sailing Schedule". Maersk Line. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Gaoming Jiang. "China must say no to imported waste". Chinadialogue.net. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "SEPA Warns of Crackdown on Foreign Waste Imports" (Press release). Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Mighty Ships". discoveryhd.ca. CTV Global Media. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "National Bank of Denmark issues commemorative coin for the Emma Mærsk". National Bank of Denmark. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Here it comes" page 29-31, Maersk Post (June 2013); accessed 22 September 2013.
  11. ↑ Accident report
  12. ↑ "Emma Maersk ship faces leakage in Suez Canal". Egypt Independent/Al-Masry Al-Youm. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  13. ↑ Hjorth, Mikael (2 February 2013). ""Emma Mærsk" tog vand ind i Suez-kanalen". Retrieved 2 February 2013. English translation
  14. ↑ Hjorth, Mikael (2 February 2013). "Såret Mærsk-gigant undersøges af dykkere". Retrieved 2 February 2013. English translation
  15. ↑ "Kæmpe Mærsk-skib tager vand ind: Nu skal 13.500 containerne læsses af". Politiken. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013. English translation
  16. ↑ "Emma Maersk: after immediate repairs, the onward journey begins". Maersk Line. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "Arrivata a Palermo la Emma Maersk la portacontainer più grande del mondo".
  18. ↑ OLE ANDERSEN. "Emma Maersk sails again" ShippingWatch, 1 August 2013. Accessed: 22 September 2013.
  19. ↑ TOMAS KRISTIANSEN. "Here comes the bill for Emma Maersk" ShippingWatch, 13 August 2013; accessed 22 September 2013.
  20. ↑ "Namegiving of newbuilding L 203" (Press release). Odense Steel Shipyard. 8 December 2006.
  21. 1 2 Koepf, Pam (2006), "Overachievers We Love", Popular Science 269 (6): 24
  22. ↑ Vessels Maersk Line, 1 June 2010; accessed 16 June 2010.
  23. ↑ Alexander Bakker. "Big, bigger, biggest". Port of Rotterdam. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Emma Maersk (PDF)
  25. ↑ "Giant Christmas goods ship docks". BBC News. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  26. 1 2 Røe, Magne A. Logistics of building large ships Det Norske Veritas, 23 September 2008; retrieved 31 August 2010.
  27. ↑ "CMA CGM MARCO POLO". Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  28. ↑ "The race among the world’s biggest ships begins". Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  29. ↑ Maersk orders up to 30 of biggest container ships on trade, businessweek.com, 21 February 2011; accessed 21 February 2011.
  30. ↑ "E-class successor", worldslargestship.com; accessed 5 March 2015.
  31. ↑ Wärtsilä RT-flex96C technical information
  32. ↑ Emma Mærsk Ship Technology. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
  33. ↑ Waste Heat Recovery (WHR): Fuel savings with less emissions Wärtsilä Corporation, 2006. Accessed: 4 December 2010.
  34. ↑ Holsting, Robert. Emma Mærsk, information & data Robse. Accessed: 26 February 2011.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Distinctive ships 2006 AllBusiness, 1 December 2006. Retrieved: 31 August 2010. Archived 15 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ↑ "The world's most powerful Engine enters service" (Press release). Wärtsilä Corporation. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  37. ↑ Photo archive, maerskline.com; accessed 5 March 2015.
  38. ↑ Solmer, Henrik. Q&A with Captain of Emma Mærsk, dr.dk, 20 February 2007; retrieved 24 July 2010.
  39. ↑ Emma Maersk trip 1006 schedule Cargo in China, retrieved 31 August 2010.
  40. ↑ Sailing schedules page 5 Maersk Line. Retrieved: 31 August 2010.
  41. ↑ Emma Mærsk schedules Mærsk, 5 December 2011; accessed 6 December 2011.
  42. 1 2 Fred Pearce (21 November 2009). "How 16 ships create as much pollution as all the cars in the world". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  43. ↑ MARPOL Regulation 14, imo.org; accessed 5 March 2015.

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emma Mærsk.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.