DNV has released details of two new bulk carrier design concepts, for a VLOC and an open-hatch handysize, which owners could use as the basis for selecting innovative features that they could incorporate into new vessels.
This is especially significant at a time when new environmental regulations are coming into effect and fuel savings are increasingly important. These latest design concepts follow DNV’s earlier new concepts for containerships and VLCCs.
DNV has the largest market share among class societies for the latest generation of VLOCs, including the giant Vale series. The Vale ships are largely conventional in design concept, but with some new features, such as an upgraded ballast system and capacity for higher loading rates.
The class society’s Ecore VLOC concept, developed in collaboration with Swedish designer FKAB, German gas engineering firm TGE Marine, cargo handling specialist Cargotec and MAN Diesel, includes several radical design features. They are intended to improve operational performance and reduce fuel costs and emissions. Owners can pick and choose which of them they might want to consider for future new orders.
The 250,000 dwt Ecore vessel features a V-shaped hull design with a wider beam of 70 m, which significantly reduces the amount of ballast water needed to 41,000 tonnes, compared with over 100,000 tonnes for a typical conventional VLOC design. It features a cargo hold design with a centre hold running the length of the ship, efficient tri-fuel twin engines and a self-loading system that increases loading speed and efficiency without compromising the vessel’s structural safety.
The ECO-Ship 2020 open hatch bulk carrier design was developed with Oshima Shipbuilding in Japan, which is a leading builder of open hatch vessels. It features a wider beam, taking advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal, with a twin-screw propulsion system with twin drives with lean burn LNG engines. Shipboard cranes are electrically driven and can recover energy when lowering loads. Hatchcovers are constructed of composite materials which require less maintenance and are lighter, enabling them to be lifted by the ship’s cranes.
It is more expensive than a standard vessel but depending on the fuel price, the payback period for the additional investment is less than 10 years.