At One Place

Aircraft carrier vs Container ship

Aircraft carrier vs container ship
Container ship is larger on weight
Container ship is 2× aircraft carrier on weight.

An aircraft carrier and a container ship can be compared on 4 measures. The figures below are typical adult or full-size values, with the larger of the two in bold.

Side by side

Larger value in bold. Ranges reflect genuine variation, not uncertainty.
Aircraft carrier Container ship
Weight 101,600–106,300 t 199,600 t
Height 74 m 33 m
Length 332.8 m 300–400 m
Width 76.8 m 61.5 m

What the numbers say

  • Container ship is 2× aircraft carrier on weight.
  • Aircraft carrier is 2.2× container ship on height.
  • Container ship is somewhat greater than aircraft carrier on length — about 1.2×.
  • Aircraft carrier is somewhat greater than container ship on width — about 1.2×.

Weight compared.

Container ship 199,600 t
Aircraft carrier 101,600–106,300 t

Aircraft carrier

A US Navy Nimitz-class supercarrier, the standard against which "the size of an aircraft carrier" is measured.

Container ship

An ultra-large container vessel in the class of Ever Given, carrying over 20,000 twenty-foot containers.

This is a comparison of published measurements, nothing more. It describes how two things differ on measures that have been recorded; it does not predict how they would fare against each other in any situation.

Common questions

Which is bigger, aircraft carrier or container ship?
Container ship is 2× aircraft carrier on weight. Both figures are typical values; the full range for each is in the table above.
How do aircraft carriers and container ships compare on height?
Aircraft carrier: 74 m. Container ship: 33 m. Aircraft carrier is 2.2× container ship on height.
How do aircraft carriers and container ships compare on length?
Aircraft carrier: 332.8 m. Container ship: 300–400 m. Container ship is somewhat greater than aircraft carrier on length — about 1.2×.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)

How these figures are compiled and checked