The Triple E class is a family of very large container ships with a capacity of more than 18,000 TEUs, which are owned and operated by Maersk Line.

With a length of 399.2 m (1,309 ft 9 in), when they were built they were the largest container ships in the world, but were subsequently surpassed by larger ones such as CSCL Globe.

[2][3] In February and June 2011, Maersk Line awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering two US$1.9 billion contracts ($3.8bn total) to build twenty ships of this class.

The name "Triple E" is derived from the class's three design principles: "Economy of scale, Energy efficiency, and Environmental impact improvement".

This class is by design slower than its predecessors, using a strategy known as slow steaming expected to lower fuel consumption by 37% and carbon dioxide emissions per container by 50%.

The Triple E design helped Maersk win a "Most Sustainable Ship Operator of the Year" award in July 2011.

Maersk plans to use the ships to service routes between Europe and Asia, projecting that Chinese exports will continue to grow.

In February 2011 Maersk announced orders for a new "Triple E" family of container ships with a capacity of 18,000 TEU, with an emphasis on lower fuel consumption.

[14] In 2015, Maersk ordered an additional series of eleven 20,568 TEU second-generation Triple E-class ships, due to be delivered from 2017 onwards.

The name "Triple E class" refers to three design principles: "Economies of scale, energy efficiency, and environmental impact improvement".

[12] The deckhouse is relatively further forward, whilst the engines are to the rear; similar to CMA CGM's Explorer class of containerships, also built by Daewoo.

[66] However, the following suitable ports include Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Qingdao, Yantian, Hong Kong, Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, and Colombo in Asia, and Rotterdam, Gothenburg, Wilhelmshaven,[67] Bremerhaven, Southampton, London Gateway, Le Havre, Felixstowe, Gdańsk, Antwerp, and Algeciras in Europe.

However fortunately, there was a sudden resurgence of demand for container transport in 2010; Maersk Line posted its largest ever profit,[73] and orders for new ships increased, leading to fresh concerns about future overcapacity.

[79] The construction of newer, larger ships has influenced development plans at ports such as London Gateway and JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven (Germany),[80] and Algeciras and Tanjung had bigger cranes installed.