Are larger ships more efficient?

Are larger ships more fuel-efficient?

Okay, so, fuel efficiency in shipping… it's a bit of a head-scratcher, right? I mean, bigger ISN'T always better.

My uncle, a marine engineer, told me stories about those monstrous container ships. He worked on one, a 10,000 TEU behemoth, back in 2018. He said the fuel consumption was staggering, despite the 'economies of scale' thing.

But, you do get more cargo per trip. That's the basic trade-off. More cargo means potentially lower cost per unit, even if the total fuel bill is sky-high. Think of it like bulk buying groceries.

It's complicated. The efficiency depends on so many things, speed, design, weather... It's not a simple "yes" or "no".