Chinese Shipyard Delivers 'World's Largest Containership' at 24,346 TEUs

Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China has delivered what is believed to be the world’s largest containership by carrying capacity.

The MSC Irina was delivered March 9 to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company by Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding located in Jingjiang city on the Yangtze River.

With an advertised carrying capacity of 24,346 twenty-foot containers (TEUs), the ship takes the unofficial title of the world’s container ship.

According to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, the MSC Irina is its first 24,000 TEU class delivery and the first in a series of six ships being built for MSC.

The delivery of MSC Irina coincided with the delivery of 24,116-TEU-capacity MSC Tessa, built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai.

Similar to the MSC Tessa, the MSC Irina comes in at 399.99 meters in length but slightly narrower at 61.3 meters in beam, compared to Tessa’s 61.5-meter beam.

The deliveries add to the growing list of 24,000 TEU class ships, following the first-in-class OOCL Spain, with a capacity of 24,118 TEUs, and the 24,005 TEU Ever Alot, which was the first ship to crack the 24,000 TEU mark.

With the exception of MSC Irina, all of the ships listed were built by subsidiaries of CSSC, confirming that China, and China state shipyards in particular, are leading the world in the construction of the biggest Ultra-Large Container Vessels.