Ultra Large Container Ships

With the first calls of HMM Algeciras (23,964 TEU) and Ever Ace (23,992 TEU) in Hamburg, shipowners show that vessel size and capacity are key factors in the future. Among other things, this is noticeable in the number of ship calls. Overall, there was a decline in the number of calls by large container ships in 2020, which is not least due to the pandemic. However, a detailed look at the different types is helpful here, because total container throughput in the Port of Hamburg fell by just 7.9 percent in 2020.

The development in the 18,000-20,000+ TEU segment is particularly remarkable. Compared to the previous year, 24 more large container ships called at the Port of Hamburg in 2020. Significantly fewer large container ships in the 10,000-13,999 TEU class moored in Hamburg in 2020 than in the previous year (-31.1 percent). Apart from the pandemic-related cancellations, this is partly due to the fact that the mega-freighters are able to siphon off capacities from the smaller ship categories. Something similar can also be observed in the medium class between 14,000 TEU and 17,999 TEU. Here there was a decline of about 13.5 percent in 2020.