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The Thames Receives its Largest Ship Ever

Published Oct 19, 2014 7:07 PM by The Maritime Executive

The largest ship ever to enter the Thames arrived at DP World London Gateway today (19th October 2014) in the early hours of the morning. 

The 397-metre-long, 56-metre-wide Edith Maersk has a draught of 16 metres and can carry up to 15,500 standard containers. The ship is powered by a 14-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex diesel engine with a power of 80,000 kW. It has a waste heat recovery system which increases the power to 90,000 kW.

The Triple-E vessel is twice the length of Titanic, and London Gateway is one of just three British docks able to handle it. The others are Felixstowe and Southampton. London Gateway is located 20 miles (32km) down the River Thames from London. It opened last year after a 1.5b pound project to redevelop the former Shell Haven site that closed in 1999.

The ship will now return to Singapore where it left from on September 20.