Container ship
A container ship is a cargo ship built to carry standard containers, stacked in its holds and on its deck.
In plain words
Container ships are measured in TEU. Small ones carry a few hundred TEU; the largest ships today carry more than 24,000 TEU. Cranes at the terminal lift the containers on and off, so loading and unloading are fast.
Most container ships work on liner services: they follow a fixed route and a regular schedule, calling at the same ports in the same order (the “rotation”). Large ships call at big hub ports. From there, smaller feeder vessels often carry containers on to smaller ports.
Example from real shipping
A weekly service links ports in China with ports in the Mediterranean. Every week, a large container ship leaves Shanghai and calls at several ports on the way. An importer in Turkey books space on this service, and the container arrives in Mersin or is moved on by a feeder vessel.
Related terms
- Feeder vesselA feeder vessel is a small container ship that carries containers between a large hub port and smaller ports nearby.
- TEUTEU is the standard unit for counting containers. One 20-foot container is 1 TEU, and one 40-foot container is 2 TEU.
- ETBETB is the date and time when a ship is expected to come alongside the berth (the place in the port where it is loaded or unloaded).
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Request a QuoteThis glossary is general information, not legal or customs advice. Rules, fees, and practice can differ by carrier, port, and country.