What a SHIP!

Do we really need that much of from China?

The Emma Maersk, part of a Danish shipping line, is shown in the photos below.
This monster transports goods across the Pacific in about 5 days!!!

15,000 containers and a 207' deck beam!

The crew-size: 13 people on a ship longer than a US aircraft carrier (which has a crew of 5,000).

Notice that 207' beam means it cannot fit through the Panama or Suez Canals .

It is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots.

The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on a China -to- California run.
So this behemoth is hugely competitive when carrying perishable goods.

The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded.

The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11 cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously.

Additional information:
Country of origin - Denmark

Length - 1,302 ft

Width - 207 ft

Net cargo - 123,200 tons

Engine - 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110, 000 BHP)

Cruise Speed - 31 knots

Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)

Crew - 13 people !

First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006

Construction cost - US $145,000,000

Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.

A recent documentary in late March on the History Channel noted that nearly all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY. Yep, that's right.

We send nothing back on most of these ships. What does that tell you about the current financial state of this country? Just keep buying those imported goods (mostly gadgets) until you run out of money.

Then you may wonder what the cause of unemployment (maybe even your job) in the U.S. and Canada might be?