Olaf Merk, the Administrator Ports and Shipping OECD/ITF wrote for us a new Short Report that assesses if the benefits of the current mega container ships still outweigh their costs to the whole transport chain.

Container ships have grown bigger at a rapid pace over the last decades, faster than any other ship type. In one decade, the average capacity of a container ship has doubled. The largest container ship at this moment can carry 19,200 TEU, but ships with capacity of more than 21,000 TEUs have been ordered and will be operational in 2017. This development raises important questions:what are the impacts to the whole transport chain – and are these impacts still positive?Larger container ships have generated cost savings for carriers, decreased maritime transport costs and as such facilitated global trade in the past. However, larger ships require adaptations of infrastructure, equipment and cause larger peaks in container traffic in ports, which have increased the total transport costs. The OECD/ITF just released a report, entitled “The Impact of Mega-Ships” that attempts to answer these questions. The new Short Report written by Olaf Merk gives highlights from this report.