Construction starts in Shanghai on world's largest container ships

The construction of two massive container ships started in Shanghai on Thursday, reports thepaper.cn. The ships, which are as long as four football fields, will be able to carry 22,000 containers, making them the largest ships of their kind in the world.

The CMA CGM Group container ship Marco Polo docks in Marseille on June 29, 2018. [File Photo: IC]

They will also be the first container ships that can be fueled with liquid natural gas. This has the advantage of being a relatively clean fuel, compared to heavy fuel oil, and will reduce the ship's emission of the global warming gas carbon dioxide by around one-quarter. The use of gas will also nearly eliminate sulfur and fine particulate emissions.

Made for French container line CMA CGM Group, the ships are being designed and built by the 708th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Last September, a signing ceremony was held between the French and Chinese partners for nine of the large container ships. The first vessel is slated to come into service next year.