Maersk’s Triple-E container ship, the ‘Mary Maersk’, has a capacity of 18,270 20-foot containers. Until recently the ship had never sailed completely, or nearly completely full.
However, last month the Mary Maersk sailed from Algeciras in southern Spain with a load equivalent to 17,603 20-foot containers on board, setting a new world record.
Big ships, small ports
The giant Triple-E ships had previously never been fully loaded due to limitations at port terminals.
Algeciras along with Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia are the only two of Maersk’s ports-of-call to have the capacity to handle a fully-loaded Triple-E vessel.
These ports are also located on Maersk's route between Asia and Europe.
READ MORE: Maersk's engineering monster makes stop on maiden voyage
Maersk Line has so far taken delivery of half of the 20 Triple-E ships being built for the company at the Daewoo shipyard in South Korea.
