Source: Adapted from Clarkson Research.

Average Draft by Containership Capacity

Larger ship capacities require deeper drafts. While for a 1,000 TEU containership the average draft is 8.3 meters, these figures reach 15.5 meters for ships above 11,000 TEU. Smaller ship classes are associated with a larger variation in draft since they have several design specifications, such as coastal ships, reefers or geared ships. Larger ships, particularly above 8,000 TEU have a uniform design, so no draft variations are observed. The 4,000 TEU range is the class having the largest variation with an average draft of 12.5 meters, which corresponds to the service depth of the Panama Canal.

Home | Contents | Media | Glossary | Links | About | Contact | Purchase

Copyright © 1998-2012, Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University, New York, USA.
This material (including graphics) cannot be copied or redistributed, in whole or in part, in ANY FORM (printed or electronic) and on ANY MEDIA. For specific uses permission MUST be requested and the material must be cited.