There’s even a term for this…“Panamax” - the maximum size that can fit in the locks of the Panama Canal* - which has generally governed the size of cargo ships since the canal was built. The Port of Baltimore is one of the few east coast ports that recently upgraded their facilities to handle the newer “New Panamax” class ships. New York actually raised the deck height of the Bayonne Bridge 64 feet to allow for bigger/taller container ships to pass (very similar architecture to the Francis Scott Key Bridge).
For comparison, the Ever Given is a class G ship which can hold over 20,000 containers. It’s too big for the Panama Canal but can (sometimes) traverse the Suez. The Dali which just crashed in Baltimore is a class E and can only carry 10,000 containers.
*Back in 2015 I visited the canal zone and had dinner at the restaurant overlooking the Miraflores locks. The ships were so close it seemed like you could lean out and touch them. Here’s a selfie with one of the “mules” pulling a container ship through the lock
