Container shipping

On 26 April 1956, the converted freighter "IDEAL X" is the first container ship in the world to sail from Newark to Houston loaded with 58 standardised, stackable metal crates - the birth of container shipping.

On 5 May 1966, the "Fairland" is the first container ship to call in Europe, mooring in the overseas port of Bremen.

2 years later, on 31 May 1968, the port of Hamburg enters a new era: the "American Lancer" is the first full container ship to dock. The square boxes on board revolutionise shipping, port work and global trade.

Fireboats greet the 213-metre-long ship on the Elbe with metre-high water fountains, while on land Hamburg's Senator for Economic Affairs Helmuth Kern personally welcomes the captain of the "American Lancer". At 9 p.m. on 31 May 1968, the era of container shipping begins at Burchardkai.

Containers: fast and affordable

Container shipping is replacing conventional freight shipping faster than many expected. This is because container transport has many advantages: Whereas previous cargo ships often spent several days in harbour for loading and unloading, container ships now only take a matter of hours - saving time and money. General cargo ships such as today's museum ship Cap San Diego are gradually disappearing from shipping traffic.

The new transport system poses major challenges for shipping and the port industry. Thousands of traditional jobs for harbour workers are being lost.

The port infrastructure has to be completely reorganised, special loading bridges, cranes and high-legged conveyor vehicles have to be purchased. Quay facilities are expanded and direct connections for rail and lorries are established - including the new Elbe Tunnel and the Köhlbrand Bridge. Both structures are completed in 1974.

The shipping companies also have to reorganise themselves. They have to invest heavily and acquire new ships. At the same time, the market is highly competitive, as container ships are getting bigger and bigger, meaning that fewer shipping companies are needed. Container shipping also forces the two major German shipping companies Hapag and Lloyd to merge. In September 1970, the competitors Hapag and NDL merge to form Hapag-Lloyd AG.

Container ships - boom in the giant pots

Over the years, the ships became larger and larger, but above all their loading capacity increased thanks to modern shipbuilding technology. For comparison: while the "American Lancer" still transported a maximum of 1,200 TEU, ships with 4,500 TEU were built from the end of the 1980s. They are already so large that they can no longer travel through the Panama Canal. The currently largest container ships in the world (as of 3/2024) are from a series comprising several ships. The "MSC Irina" is one of the ships in service for the liner shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The ship is 61 metres wide and has a length of just under 400 metres. It is therefore not even twice the size of the "American Lancer", but can carry more than 20 times the cargo. That's 24,346 standard containers to be precise. The series also includes the identically constructed "MSC Loreto", "MSC Michel Cappellini" and "MSC Mariella".

Source: NDR

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