The Wal-Monster

This item was sent to us by our European Bureau Chief, Benny Brown:

The Emma Maersk, part of a Danish shipping line, is shown in the photos below.
It is no wonder that 'Made in China' is displacing North American made goods big time.

This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!! This is one of three ships presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012.

These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China.

They hold an incredible 15,000 cartons and have a 207 foot deck beam!! The full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrier (which has a crew of 5,000)

With it's 207' beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals ...It is strictly transpacific.  Cruise speed: 31 knots.

The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on a China -to- California run. 91% of Wal-Mart products are made in China . So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.

The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded.
The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building
11 cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours.

Additional info:

Country of origin - Denmark

Length - 1,302 ft

Width - 207 ft

Net cargo - 123,200 tons

Engine - 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110,000 BHP)

Cruise Speed - 31 knots

Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)

Crew - 13 people !

First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006

Construction cost - US $145,000,000+

Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.

A recent documentary in late March, 2010 on the History Channel noted that all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY. Yep, that's right. We send nothing back on these ships. What does that tell you about the current financial state of this country?