The introduction of the Class-EEE containerships of 18,000 to 22,000 TEU has greatly reduced the transportation cost-per-container on extended voyages on the Asia-Europe route. Such development has led to the construction of several transshipment terminals across Asia and around the Mediterranean Sea, where the mega-size ships interline with fleets of smaller vessels that sail coastal services or along inland waterways.
The nature of trade has produced container transshipment terminals as hubs of classical hub-and-spoke container transportation networks. Prior to the construction of the Suez
Canal, Asia–Europe trade sailed via the southern tip of Africa, where sailing ships stopped at Cape Town. At the present day, much container trade bypasses the Suez Canal and sails by Cape Town, South Africa, and includes trade between South America and East Africa, as well as between West and East Africa and Asia and South…
