Last of the Econships

摘要

A notable arrival at Aliaga on 14 April was the container ship SSC Edward A. Carter Jr. She is the last of 12 Jumbo Econships built for the United States Lines between 1984 and 1985. Considered to be of a revolutionary design at the time, the vessels were conceived against a backdrop of rapidly rising oil prices. But now the last of the Econships has gone for breaking. The ships were fuel-efficient compared to other container ships, but were also slow, achieving 18 knots against 22-24 knots. Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Heavy Machinery at Ceoje, South Korea, the vessels were the largest container ships built at that time and had a capacity of 4614TEU. When United States Lines filed for bankruptcy in 1985, all the vessels were disposed of at scrap value. Two were converted for use by the United States Military Sealift Command. The LTC John U.D. Page (ex-American Utah) arrived at Aliaga in March 2015. Her sister SSG Edward A. Carter Jr. (ex-American Nebraska) has now followed, bringing an end to this class of vessel.