One of the largest ships in the world has arrived in the UK, dwarfing everything around it.
The Milan Maersk, which has a capacity of 20,568 containers and at 399 metres long, is 120 metres longer than RMS Titanic.
The massive vessel weighs a staggering 214,000 tonnes and is less than a metre shorter than the world’s longest vessel.
If parked bumper to bumper, the vessel is the same length as 36 London buses or is almost the length of four Wembley Stadium pitches.
The Milan Maersk, pictured entering Southampton port yesterday afternoon carrying cargo from China on it’s maiden visit
The massive vessel, pictured, has the capacity to carry 20,568 containers efficiently across massive distances
The Milan Maersk quickly unloaded and loaded its cargo in Southampton before continuing its journey towards Germany
The massive ship made its maiden visit to Southampton yesterday delivering tonnes of goods destined for stores across the country for the Christmas rush.
The vessel departed Shanghai on October 1, less than a fortnight after entering service and called into Ningbo, Hong Kong and Yantian in China before arriving in Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 17.
It then passed through the Suez Canal before stopping in Felixtowe on November 2 and shooting across the North Sea to Rotterdam.
From Rotterdam, the ship tracked to Southampton, where it headed back to sea in the early hours of this morning towards Bremerhaven and Rotterdam before heading back to Suez and the Far East.
The Milan Maersk has a maximum speed of 23 knots and is designed to reduce CO2 emissions
The vessel only spent a few hours in Southampton before it returned to sea to its next destination Bremerhaven
ABP Southampton Director Alastair Welch said the mega ships such as the Milan Maersk are capable of carrying more cargo more efficiently than the older and smaller cargo vessels. He said Southampton was ideally suited to cope with the vessels
The massive vessel is almost the length of four Wembley football pitches or the same as 36 London buses parked end to end
The colossal ship belongs to the second generation of Maersk Line’s Triple-E class – Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved – and is part of a series of 11 container ships, which will be delivered by the end of 2018.
| Ship Name | Length |
|---|---|
| Barzan | 400 metres |
| OOCL Hong Kong | 399.87 metres |
| OOCL Germany | 399.87 metres |
| OOCL Japan | 399.87 metres |
| OOCL United Kingdom | 399.87 metres |
| Milan Maersk | 399 metres |
| Madrid Maersk | 399 metres |
| Munich Maersk | 399 metres |
| Moscow Maersk | 399 metres |
| Monaco Maersk | 399 metres |
The Danish registered Milan Maersk arrived at the container terminal in Southampton, Hampshire, yesterday afternoon.
It dwarfed Calshot Castle and the maritime control tower and completely blotted out views of the Isle of Wight as it entered Southampton Water.
The giant vessel has a dual engine and a maximum speed of 23 knots to increase efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.
Milan Maersk’s propulsion and software system creates energy savings which aims to reduce carbon emissions per container vessel by 35 per cent.
The Triple E class ships also feature a waste heat recovery system which uses hot exhaust gas to produce extra propulsion.
ABP Southampton Director, Alastair Welch said: ‘Milan Maersk is just the latest of these new mega ships to visit the Port of Southampton.
‘Not only are these vessels bigger, they are much cleaner too and we are seeing more of these new generation of ships visiting across the port’s key trades.
‘The Port of Southampton is ideally suited to welcome these megaships.’
The biggest container ship in the world is the OOCL Hong Kong, at 399.87 metres long and 58.8 metres wide making it only 0.87 longer than the Milan Maersk.
The Milan Maersk left Shanghai on October 2 and made its way along the Chinese coast before entering the Suez canal
The vessel sailed from Shanghai, down the Chinese coast before calling into Sri Lanka and through the Suez Canal