Maersk Line is building 10 of the world's largest and most efficient container ships, at South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding, with an option for 20 more.
They will entirely change the shipping industry's understanding of size and efficiency, when they begin entering service later this year, says Maersk.
Called the Triple-E class for "Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved", they will cost US$190 million (Dh697.8m) each.
At 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high, they will be the largest vessel of any type at sea. Their 18,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit container) capacity is 16 per cent greater (2,500 containers) than today's transocean cargo ships.
They will generate 30 per cent less carbon dioxide per container moved compared with the current largest container ship, Emma Mærsk, and 50 per cent less than the industry average on the Asia-Europe trade routes.
They will consume approximately 35 per cent less fuel per container carried than the 13,100 TEU vessels being delivered to other container shipping lines in the next few years.
The Triple-E's innovative design features a hull and bow shape that will guide the vessel through the water more efficiently at speed and an advanced waste-heat recovery system that captures and reuses energy from the engines' exhaust gas for extra propulsion with additional lower fuel consumption.
To reduce the environmental impact of the vessels beyond their lifecycle, all the materials used will be documented and mapped in the vessel's "cradle-to-cradle passport".
This means when the vessel is retired from service, this document will ensure that all materials can be reused, recycled or disposed of efficiently.
In February, the AP reported that Maersk said its fourth-quarter earnings reached 5.5 billion Danish kroner (Dh3.54m).
The group, based in the Danish capital Copenhagen and the owner of the Maersk Line, said revenue for the three-month period grew nearly 3 per cent on an annual basis to 84.8bn kroner.
Maersk, which is seen as a bellwether for international trade, says full-year profits for last year rose 6 per cent to 342bn kroner, while revenue soared 23 per cent to 23.4 kroner, AP said.
