Malaccamax

The shortest sea route from the Persian Gulf to China is through the Strait of Malacca.

Malaccamax , rarely also Malakkamax , is a size classification for ships that can barely pass the Strait of Malacca when fully loaded .

background

The determining factor in the passage in this case is the depth of the Malacca Strait, which in some places is only 25 meters (m) deep. Should a ship exceed the Malaccamax dimensions ( post-Malaccamax ), a very large detour would be necessary, as the next "alternative route", the neighboring Sunda Strait , only has a water depth of 20 m.

Possible detours would be

• through Lombok Street , Makassar Street , Sibutu Passage and Mindoro Street ,
• through the Strait of Ombai , Banda Sea, Lifamatola Strait between the Sula Islands and the Island of Obi and the Moluccan Sea , or
• around Australia .

Alternatively could

• the Straits of Malacca to be dredged, particularly the Straits of Singapore , or
• the planned Kra Canal will be built.

Ship size

The following parts of this section seem since 2013 is out of date to be : There are ships that can carry up to 21,000 TEU!
Please help to research and insert the missing information .

The term Malaccamax is currently used on the one hand for large bulk carriers and VLCC tankers that are already reaching or exceeding this size, and on the other hand for container ships that have only been projected to date and are intended to reach this size.

For example, the bulk carrier Berge Stahl has a draft of over 23 m when loaded.

Malaccamax container ships are roughly 300,000 DWT in size  , 470 m long, 60 m wide and 20 m draft. They should be able to hold 30,000 TEU. The largest container ships currently under construction with 18,000 TEU have a draft of - after 16,000 TEU ships with 16 m - only 15.50 m and are still a long way from Malaccamax. Corresponding terminals do not yet exist for Malaccamax container ships. The port operator Eurogate advertises that it will provide so-called Malaccamax container cranes in the Jade-Weser-Port in Wilhelmshaven , but the Jade-Weser-Port as such will have a draft of only 18 m and thus less than that required for Malaccamax allow.

Web links

• Knowledge archive "Ship classes by size"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Report "Container Transhipment and demand for container terminal capacity in Scotland" on the website scotland.gov.uk (Engl., Accessed on 22 March 2009)
2. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21432226 William Kremer: How much bigger can container ships get? BBC World Service, February 19, 2013, accessed April 29, 2013
3. ↑ Presentation  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.4 MB) of the EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven