Container ships have grown incessantly over the last decades due to a continuous search for economies of scale by shipping lines. In the past this has contributed to decreasing maritime transport costs that facilitated global trade. One can wonder if ever larger container ships still make a positive contribution to society. The increase in container ship sizes and the speed with which that happens has consequences for the rest of the transport chain: they require infrastructure adaptations and productivity levels that increase costs for port operators, port authorities and other stakeholders in the transport chain. Moreover, mega-ships cause peaks in ports and put a strain on hinterland transports, which is challenging for most ports, especially if these occur unexpectedly, for example if ships are not on time. Has a tipping point been reached where further ship size increases result in disproportionally higher port and hinterland costs?