First container ship

The first modern containership was the converted T2-type oil tanker Ideal X which left Newark for Houston on 26^th April 1956 carrying 58 35-foot containers which were crane-loaded onto a specially constructed spar deck above the tank spaces. The idea was the initiative of trucking magnate Malcolm McLean who had seen the huge potential of containerization, particularly in terms of both labour and cost savings. In 1955 he sold his business to purchase the ships of the Pan-Atlantic SS Corporation (a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship) including the Ideal X.

In 1960 McLean renamed his company Sea-Land Services Inc which became a major container shipping line until purchased in 1999 by Maersk Line.

Several types of small containers were used to carry coal in the latter part of the 18^th Century. From early in the 20th century small shipborne containers, or "lift vans", were used in conjunction with railway transport, usually on short-sea routes. In November 1955 the new 2,983 tons gross Clifford J Rogers had special arrangements for carrying 168 small containers between railheads at Vancouver and Skagway.