The Canadas and I were attentive, but it was really just another ULCV.  This was was named for Columbus’ detractor.  Ironically, Maersk Columbus will be arriving in the sixth boro today.

It struck me as remarkable that in spite of the number of containers visible–and of course many more are invisible–Vespucci rode fairly high in the water.  My read on the forward draft markings show just over 25′ draft. Maybe you read it the same?

In this article from four years ago, Vespucci would be listed among the top 10 largest classes on container vessels in the world, by teu.

 

 

See the red “fenders” on the stern quarter?  I first noticed them here a few years ago . . . turns out they are anti-pirate gear.  There’s a link to the inventors in  that post, and here’s a link to the manufacturer.

If you’re new to this blog, container ship capacity is rated in a unit called t. e. u. (twenty-foot equivalents).  Most containers are either 20′ or 40′ long, standard dimensions for efficiency’s sake. Containers are used to ship just about anything, but let’s for this conversation’s sake say a container is full of shoe boxes, which themselves can be moved in a shopping cart.  A standard shopping cart is rated at 4.4 cubic feet of volume.  A standard container is 1172 cubic feet, given the dimensions above.  My math then comes up with 267 shopping carts per container.  That adds up to over 3.6 million shopping carts of stuff on Vespucci, rated at 13,830 teu.  End-to-end with no space between the carts . . . that line of carts would stretch farther than NYC to Albuquerque along the roads!!

 

This 2010 vessel carries 20 containers across, and compare that to

CMA CGM Marlin (photo taken in September 2009) with 13 containers across.  Here are some recent posts featuring CMA CGM boats.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who suggests you keep an eye on ONE Stork, currently in Bayonne.

By the way, I was traveling when S/V Amerigo Vespucci  was last here in 2017.  Anyone get pics?