Photo Gallery A Big, Big Boat
The Alexander von Humboldt enters the Hamburg harbor on May 30, when the twin sister of the world's largest container ship will be inaugurated in the German port.
At 396 meters (1,300 feet) long, the mammoth vessel can carry some 16,000 shipping containers, and will frequently travel to the northern German city.
The only problem is that some parts of the Elbe River, which leads into the harbor, are not deep enough to accomodate such a huge boat.
That means some tight maneuvering for the container ship, which is shown here turning into a terminal in the harbor on May 30.
The Alexander von Humboldt was made by French shipbuilder CMA CGM in the image of the Marco Polo, which was inaugurated in December 2012 -- making both boats the largest in the world at this time.
Here, crew members man the ship from its control room.
Here, the main engine.
The Alexander von Humboldt's sister ship, the Marco Polo, is shown here as it travels through the Suez Canal northeast of the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
In Egypt and Germany, the Marco Polo is a popular photo subject.
