MAERSK's first of the 20 promised 18,000-TEU plus superships is afloat and undergoing sea trials off Korea with every expectation to enter the Asia-Europe AE10 service from Busan on July 14.

The Triple E vessel has been named Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller after the son of the founder of AP Moller-Maersk Group, Arnold Peter Moller, and his American mother Chastine Estelle Mc-Kinney.

The series of ships are being built at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering's Ogpo Bay yard on Geoje Island, South Korea, at a cost of US$190 million each.

Improvements include a new hull design and energy-efficient engine and waste heat recovery systems to reduce fuel burn by 35 per cent compared to Maersk's 15,500-TEUers.

"Triple E" means economy of scale, energy efficiency and environmental with each ship being 399.25 metres long and 73 metres high.