Container ship

A cargo ship designed to carry standardized freight containers in dedicated holds and on deck. Its layout and handling systems allow containers to be transferred efficiently between ships, trucks, and trains.

Cellular container ship: A container ship whose holds contain vertical guides that position and secure containers. Cell guides let containers stack in precise columns below deck.
Intermodal freight transport: The movement of goods in the same loading unit across multiple transport modes without handling the goods themselves. Containers move from ship to rail or truck without unpacking their contents.
Malcom McLean: An American trucking entrepreneur whose container system helped establish modern intermodal shipping. McLean’s standardized freight system prompted ships built specifically for containers.
Economies of scale: Cost advantages that arise when the average cost per unit falls as output or capacity increases. Larger ships can lower freight cost per container when well loaded and efficiently served.
Bulk carrier: A cargo ship designed to carry unpackaged bulk commodities such as grain, coal, or ore. Bulk carriers load loose cargo into holds rather than standardized containers.
Container crane: A large crane designed to lift standardized containers between ships and land transport. Shore cranes load and unload the ship’s containers at port.
Container port: A port equipped to handle container ships using specialized terminals, cranes, and storage areas. Terminals coordinate vessel berthing, container transfers, and onward transport.
Ideal X: A converted tanker that carried truck trailers’ detachable bodies on its 1956 voyage from Newark to Houston. Its voyage demonstrated the commercial potential of carrying containers by sea.
Global supply chain: A network of organizations and processes that produces and delivers goods across national borders. Container shipping enables long-distance coordination of manufacturing and distribution.
Oil tanker: A ship designed to transport petroleum or petroleum products in liquid form. Tankers carry liquid cargo in tanks, unlike container ships’ unitized freight.

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