The Maersk Triple E class is a family of large, fuel-efficient container ships, designed as a successor to the Mærsk E-class. In February and June 2011, Maersk awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding two US$1.9 billion contracts ($3.8bn total) to build twenty of the ships.
The name "Triple E" is derived from the class’s three design principles: "Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved". These ships are expected to be not only the world’s longest ships in service, but also the most efficient container ships per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of cargo.
The ships will be 400 metres (1,312 ft) long and 59 metres (194 ft) wide. While only 3 metres (9.8 ft) longer and 4 metres (13 ft) wider than E-class ships, the Triple E ships will be able to carry 2,500 more containers. With a draft of 14.5 metres (48 ft), they will be too deep to use any port in the Americas or cross the Panama Canal, but will be able to transit the Suez Canal when sailing between Europe and Asia.