Number of container ships increases rapidly

The number of container ships worldwide has surpassed 3,000 ships.
Samho Heavy Industries delivered one 3,900 TEU class ship to a shipowner in Germany. The ship is the world's three thousandth commissioned container ship. Samho received three orders from the German shipowner in August 2000, including this ship.The other two ships will be given at the end of the year.
The world's first full-container ship sailed to Puerto Rico by the 'Sealand service company' in 1957. Container ships, developed by 'the father of the container ship' - Malcolm P. McLean, have revolutionized the transport industry. Mr. McLean passed away last year, but his simple idea to transport cargoes in big metal boxes has become the standard worldwide.
According to the latest statistics from Clarkson, a think tank on shipbuilding and marine transport market conditions based in the U.K., the number of container ships all over the world surpassed 1,000 ships for the first time in 1985 and 2,000 ships in 1996. Analysis reveals the number of container ships worldwide should exceed 4,000 ships in 2005.
One analyst said, "The coming of larger container ships and world economic trends will be important factors in the increase of container ships."