MS Selandia

Selandia helped show that diesel engines could replace coal-fired steam on long ocean routes, and nearly all of today's container ships run on large diesel engines descended from that shift. It was not the very first diesel ship at sea, but it was the largest and most advanced of its time, and its voyage to Bangkok burned only about 800 tons of fuel, far less space and weight than the coal a steamer would have needed. Less fuel meant more room for cargo and no stokers shoveling coal. Fuel is still one of shipping's largest costs, which is why carriers pass it on through fuel surcharges.

• Fuel SurchargePercentage fee that tracks fuel prices
• Full Container LoadFCLOne shipper's goods in a whole container
• Twenty-Foot Equivalent UnitTEUContainer capacity unit of one 20-foot box

• Rudolf Diesel1858–1913 · Inventor of the diesel engine

• SS Great Western Transatlantic Steam Service1838 · Brunel's steamer crosses to New York in about 15 days
• Liberty Ships1941–1945 · US yards build 2,710 cargo ships to one design

1. MS Selandia en.wikipedia.org
2. Burmeister & Wain en.wikipedia.org