New Medium-Sized Containership Design Nears Completion

A flexible new containership design, which maximizes payload and stability with only negligible increases in specific resistance/power requirements, is set to be debuted by a U.S. company Halter Marine Inc. of the Trinity Marine Group, in conjunction with the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), is nearing completion of the design development of the innovative, medium-sized containership. The Trinity Sea Shuttle design incorporates inventive concepts intended to make it a profitable vessel throughout its life cycle. "With the increasing requirement for medium-size, high payload containerships to accommodate the medium and short-length ocean and inter-island routes, the Trinity Sea Shuttle, with its unique flexibility in design, modular construction, and shallow draft and cargo capacity, fills the void nicely," said J o h n Dane III, president, Trinity Marine Group.

The basic design measures 402 ft. (123 m) long and has a maxium capacity of 946 TEUs. A "stretch" version measures 490 ft. (149 m) long and has a capacity of 1,234 TEUs.

Designed for the international market, the Sea Shuttle is available in several configurations including various length and beam dimensions, and either flush deck or hatchless versions. The vessel was purposely designed to be flexible and modular, so a variety of owner preferences in the vessel configuration and equipment options can be accommodated.

The design of the vessel permits a high degree of flexibility in the final configuration, such as an optional 88-ft. (27-m) mid-body plug, aft ramps for RoRo applications, multiple accommodation layouts, reefer plugs and loading flexibility.

For more information on the new containership design Circle 18 on Reader Service Card