Guide · Around the box
Container Ship Sizes
Yuri Kan Updated
The largest container ships carry 24,346 TEU on 399.9 m (1,312 ft) of length and 61.3 m (201 ft) of beam — MSC Irina and her sisters, as the port of Vizhinjam (Adani Ports) reported on 9 June 2025; at the other end, feeders carry from a few hundred to 3,000 TEU, in the engine maker MAN Energy Solutions’ classes (a small feeder carries under 1,000). “Panamax” (up to 5,000 TEU, 32.31 m beam) and “Neo-Panamax” (more than 14,000 TEU, 51.25 m beam) are set by the Panama Canal locks, per Panama Canal notice N-1-2025.
Ship classes are named after the waterways that constrain them. The original Panama locks capped ships at 32.31 m of beam — “Panamax”, up to 5,000 TEU. The 2016 expansion created “Neo-Panamax” at 51.25 m and more than 14,000 TEU; the largest ship to pass so far is MSC MARIE, 17,640 TEU, in August 2024, as the Panama Canal Authority reported. Beyond canals, ports and depth limit size.
The numbers in this chart
| Class | Capacity | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Panamax | ≤ 5,000 TEU | 294 m |
| Neo-Panamax | 14,000+ TEU | 370 m |
| ULCV | ≤ 24,346 TEU | 400 m |
Container ship size classes and the limits behind them
| Class | Capacity | Largest length × beam | Draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeder | up to 3,000 TEU | — | — |
| Panamax | up to 5,000 TEU | 294.13 × 32.31 m | 12.04 m |
| Neo-Panamax | more than 14,000 TEU | 370.33 × 51.25 m | 15.24 m |
| ULCV | up to 24,346 TEU | 399.9 × 61.3 m | about 16.4 m |
Each row of the table comes from its own document:
- Panamax and Neo-Panamax: the lock limits of the Panama Canal Authority’s notice N-1-2025, which allows a Panamax container ship 294.43 m of length.
- ULCV: MSC Irina as Adani Ports printed her, with OOCL Spain’s draft from OOCL’s particulars.
- Feeder: the engine maker MAN Energy Solutions’ classes. “Feeder” is a name, not a limit.
Depth is the next ceiling. The Suez Canal takes ships drawing up to 66 ft (20.1 m) and 240,000 t deadweight. The Suez Canal Authority says that admits every fully loaded container ship.
For perspective: one 24,000 TEU vessel carries what 12,000 trucks would, each hauling one 40 ft.
The largest container ships and why they stopped growing longer
MSC Irina and her sisters lead at 24,346 TEU, the largest by capacity and 158 TEU ahead of OOCL Spain. The port of Vizhinjam reported her first call there on 9 June 2025. MSC prints the same 24,346 TEU for MSC Michel Cappellini (July 2023).
Close behind, by their owners’ own particulars, come OOCL Spain (24,188 TEU, built 2023) and Evergreen’s A-type (23,992 TEU).
All these ships are 399.9–400.0 m long: length has stopped at the 400 m mark. Capacity now grows with beam (61.3–61.5 m) and stacking height.
How many containers a ship really carries, and how many are lost
A ship sails with fewer containers than its nominal TEU. That figure assumes every slot filled with light boxes. Weight limits, reefer plugs and stability rules hold real loads lower, by an amount that varies with the trade and the voyage.
Losses are small against the traffic. The World Shipping Council estimated 1,478 containers lost at sea in 2025, out of about 280 million carried, in its update released on 25 June 2026. One vessel loss accounted for 640 of them; the council’s ten-year average to 2024 was 1,274 a year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest container ship in the world?
The MSC Irina class leads at 24,346 TEU nominal capacity, 399.9 m (1,312 ft) long and 61.3 m (201 ft) wide — as the port of Vizhinjam (Adani Ports) reported on 9 June 2025, 158 TEU ahead of OOCL Spain. OOCL Spain (24,188 TEU) and Evergreen’s A-type (23,992 TEU) sit within a few hundred TEU of it.
How many containers fit on a cargo ship?
From a few hundred TEU on small feeders to 24,346 TEU on the largest vessels — nominally, as the owners and ports print it. A ship sails with fewer than its nominal figure, because weight and stability limits bind before every slot is full; how many fewer depends on the trade and the voyage.
What does Panamax mean?
The maximum ship size that fits the original Panama Canal locks: 294.13 m (965 ft) length (294.43 m for a container ship), 32.31 m (106 ft) beam and 12.04 m (39.5 ft) draft — up to 5,000 TEU. Neo-Panamax refers to the expanded 2016 locks: 370.33 m (1,215 ft) length, 51.25 m (168.14 ft) beam and 15.24 m (50 ft) draft, the limits in the Panama Canal Authority’s notice N-1-2025.
How deep does a loaded container ship sit in the water?
Draft scales with size: Panamax ships draw up to 12.04 m (39.5 ft) and Neo-Panamax 15.24 m (50 ft), per Panama Canal notice N-1-2025, and the largest ULCVs 16–16.5 m (52–54 ft) in MAN Energy Solutions’ class table — OOCL Spain’s particulars print 16.37 m (53.7 ft), MSC’s 16 m for MSC Türkiye — which is why only a short list of deep-water ports can receive them.
Who owns the largest container ships?
MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) — its Irina class leads the fleet at 24,346 TEU, as Adani Ports reported on 9 June 2025 and MSC prints for MSC Michel Cappellini. OOCL’s Spain class (24,188 TEU) and Evergreen’s A-type (23,992 TEU) are the closest rivals, by their owners’ own particulars.