Walmart Container Ship

[Effie Dickson]

 

What a ship….no wonder ‘Made in China ‘ is displacing  North Americanmade goods big time. This monster  transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!! Another  two will soon be  commissioned.

These  ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get their  imported goods from China ….. They hold an incredible  15,000 containers and have a 207 foot deck beam!!  The  full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrier which has a crew of 5,000.  With its 207′ beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez  Canals ………..

     

It  is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots.
The goods arrive four days before the typical  container ship(18-20 knots) on a  China-to-California run. 91% of Wal-Mart products are  made in China. So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.    The ship  was built in five sections. The sections are floated together  and then welded. The command bridge is higher than a 10-story  building and has 11 cargo crane rigs that can operate  simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two  hours. 

Additional info:
Country of origin  – Denmark
Length – 1,302 ft
Width – 207 ft
Net cargo  – 123,200 tons
Engine – 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine  (110,000 BHP)
Cruise Speed – 31 knots

Cargo  capacity – 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)
Crew – 13  people!
First trip – Sept. 08, 2006
Construction cost –  US $145,000,000+
Silicone painting applied to the ship  bottom reduces water resistance and saves 317,000  gallons of diesel per year.

A recent documentary in late March,  2010 on the History Channel noted that all of these containers  are shipped back to China,  EMPTY!

Yep,  that’s right.  We send nothing back on  these ships.

What does that tell you about the current  financial state of the west in crisis? So folks, just keep  on buying those imported goods (mostly gadgets) until you run  out of money.  Then you may wonder what the cause of unemployment (maybe even your job) in the U..S, UK,  Canada and even in Australia????