8. Container Ship Size Categories
Capacity
Name Length Beam Draft Example
(TEU)
Ultra 14,501 and 1,200 ft 160.7 49.9 ft With a length
Large higher (366 m) ft (49 (15.2 of 397 m, a
Container and m) m) width of 56 m,
Vessel longer and and draft of 15.5
(ULCV) wider deeper m, and a
capacity of
over 15,000
TEU, ships of
the Emma
Maersk class
are well over
the limits of
the New
Panamax class.
(Photo: The
15,000 TEU
MV Edith
Maersk.)
New 10,000– 1,200 ft 160.7 49.9 ft With a beam
panamax 14,500 (366 m) ft (49 (15.2 of 43 m, ships
Post 5,101– m) m) of the COSCO
panamax 10,000 Guangzhou
class are much
too big to fit
through the
Panama
Canal's old
locks, but
could easily fit
through the
new
expansion.
(Photo: The
9,500 TEU
9. MV COSCO
Guangzhou
pierside in
Hamburg. )
Panamax 3,001 – 965 ft 106 ft 39.5 ft Ships of the
5,100 (294.13 (32.31 (12.04 Bay-class are
m) m) m) at the upper
limit of the
Panamax class,
with an overall
length of
292.15 m,
beam of
32.2m, and
maximum
depth of 13.3
[25]
m. (Photo:
The 4,224
TEU MV
Providence
Bay passing
through the
Panama
Canal.)
Feedermax 2,001 – Container
3,000 ships under
Feeder 1,001 – 3,000 TEU are
2,000 typically called
feeders. In
Small Up to 1,000
some areas of
feeder
the world, they
might be
outfitted with
cargo cranes.
(Photo: The
384 TEU MV
TransAtlantic
at anchor.)
