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IDEAL X

Ideal X was a historic ship that was converted from a T2 oil tanker. She was the first to hold large shipping containers which eventually became the standard for transoceanic transport of goods.

On April 26th, 1956, Ideal-X left the Port of Newark, New Jersey, to the Port Houston, Texas. Ideal X also carried 58 containers that were 35-feet long, 8-feet wide by 8-feet high. The containers were loaded on board the ship in less than eight hours.

The containers were 35-feet long because that was the standard truck size in the United States at that time. There were very few highways and the turn radius on standard roads did not allow for longer trailers. 

Ideal X was created under the initiative of Malcolm McLean, a trucking magnate who saw the tremendous potential of containerization. In 1937, while delivering cotton bales from North Carolina to New York Harbor, McLean was forced to wait several days while longshoremen manually loaded the cargo. McLean calculated that loading a medium-sized ship the conventional way was costing $5.83 a ton. Comparatively, loading containers would cost less than $0.16 a ton. The economic advantages of such a mode of transportation became clear to the shipping industry.

In 1960, McLean founded SeaLand. McLean’s involvement in the realm of container ships did not stop there. In the late 1970s he bought United State Lines which operated one of largest fleets of container ships participating in global commerce with each ship able to hold almost 4,500 container units. McLean is considered the father of containerization that makes transoceanic trade what it is today.

The Ideal X carried containers until 1964 when it was scrapped.

This primarily wood Ideal X container ship model is 30" long x 9" tall x 5.5" wide (1/200 scale) $3,550  Shipping and insurance in the contiguous USA included. Other places: $300 flat rate. This model is in stock and can be shipped within five business days. Please note that the brass plaque is $60 extra and will be sent later.



For other sizes, email us for a quote.

Learn more about the Ideal X here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ideal_X