Danish container ship company Maersk, the world’s biggest container line, said it had signed a contract to buy 10 Triple-E vessels, the biggest ships ever built, with an option for 20 more.
The vessels will be will be "the largest vessel of any type known to be in operation" at 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high.
They able to carry 18,000 containers, 2,500 more than the next largest operational ship.
Due to their size the Triple-Es will solely be used for the Asia to Europe trade route, as only a handful of ports in the world are large enough to accommodate them.
The company said that Triple-E designation stood for the three purposes behind the creation of the ships — economy of scale, energy efficiency and environmental improvements.
It claims the ships will emit half as much carbon dioxide as the average ship travelling the Asia to Europe trade route.
