The Triple E design helped Maersk win a 'Most Sustainable Ship Operator of the Year' award in July 2011. This class is by design slower than its predecessors, using a strategy known as slow steaming expected to lower fuel consumption by 37% and carbon dioxide emissions per container by 50%. One of the class's main design features is its dual 29.68- megawatt (39,800 hp), eight-cylinder, ultra-long stroke two-stroke diesel engines, driving two propellers at a design speed of 19 knots (35 km/h 22 mph). With a beam of 59 metres, they are too wide to traverse the Panama Canal, but can easily transit the Suez Canal.

While only 3 metres (9 ft 10 in) longer and 4 metres (13 ft 1 in) wider than the Mærsk E class, the Triple E ships are able to carry 2,500 more containers.

The name 'Triple E' is derived from the class's three design principles: 'Economy of scale, Energy efficiency, and Environmental impact improvement'. In February and June 2011, Maersk Line awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering two US$1.9 billion contracts ($3.8bn total) to build twenty ships of this class. With a length of 399.2 m (1,309 ft 9 in), when they were built they were the largest container ships in the world, but were subsequently surpassed by larger ones such as CSCL Globe.

The Triple E class is a family of very large container ships with a capacity of more than 18,000 TEUs, which are owned and operated by Maersk Line. Twin MAN engines, 31,000 kilowatts (42,000 hp) each Triple E-class container ship Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller

Container ship construction design