Wal*Mart Container Ship crosses from China to U.S. in just 5 days

[The Librarian]

What a ship...no wonder 'Made in China ' is displacing North 
American made goods big time. This monster transports goods 
across the Pacific in just 5 days! Another two will soon be 
commissioned..

These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart - to get its imported
goods from China ... They hold an incredible 15,000 containers 
and have a 207 foot deck beam! A full crew is just 13 people 
on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrier, which has a crew of 
5,000. With its 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 four days before the 
typical container ship (18-20 knots) on a China-to-California run. 
91% of Walmart products are made in China. So this behemoth 
is hugely competitive - even if carrying perishable goods. 

The ship was built in 5 sections. The sections are floated together 
and then welded. The command bridge, higher than a 10-story 
building, has 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 fuel annually.

Editorial Comment!
A documentary in late March, 2010, on the History Channel,
noted that all of these containers are returned to China, 
EMPTY! Yep, that's right. We send nothing back on these ships.
Enough said!

Via Tina B.