Largest container ship

What to remember

Built in 2023, MSC Irina can carry 24,346 TEU, the unit that counts cargo in twenty-foot equivalent containers. She is 399.9 m long and 61.3 m wide, with a gross tonnage of 233,328. Operated by the Swiss company MSC, she sails under the Liberian flag.

Ships have grown ever larger to take advantage of economies of scale, but size has limits: main engines must be large enough, enough ports and terminals must be equipped to handle them, and major waterways such as the Suez Canal and the Singapore Strait restrict the dimensions of ships that pass through.