European money backs standard cargo carrier concept
Eu r o p e a n finance has secured a m a j o r interest in a series of new, standard-design cargo vessels being built by the Dalian Shipyard in China. The first, Cupper Fantasy, has now been delivered to her owners and chartered to Denmark's East Asiatic Company. Scandinavian and German companies, incorporating numerous joint ventures, constitute the lead investors in this and the nine additional confirmed orders (including recently completed Clipper Frontier and Ilsabe Oldendorf orders). The 28,000-dwt Fantasy class, multi-purpose cargo vessel is the first design from GTR Campbell of Quebec to reach production since George Campbell designed the Freedom, Fortune and Friendship classes of the 1960s and 70s. These classes of ships were produced in substantial numbers and represent perhaps the most successful series of standard designs since World War II.
The Fantasy class has been developed jointly by GTR Campbell with Algoship Designers Ltd. of Nassau, and the Dalian Ship Design and Research Institute. A primary consideration was to produce handy-sized, multi-purpose cargo vessels, capable of entering secondary ports where water is limited and cargo handling facilities are basic, or even non-existent. In the past, this requirement was met by the legendary Liberty ship, a vessel which offered a cargo capacity of 10,000 tons at 10 knots. The ships were available in large numbers after World War II, but by the 1960s, the aging ships were in need of renewal.
The first GTR Campbell design, the 14,000- dwt Freedom, emerged as a major contender for the Liberty replacement. The new design featured a tonnage capacity approximately 50 percent greater than the Liberty ships, with a service speed increase of 45 percent to 14.5 knots. Subsequent GTR Campbell designs, such as Fortune, included increases in dwt to 21,000 tons, while service speed remained fairly constant at 14 to 15 knots. This proved to be the optimum balance between fuel economy and speeds. Again there is a demand for the replacement of this type of standard vessel, but the demand has been for a vessel with increased tonnage, which is in line with the general growth in ship tonnage over the last 20 years. There is also a need for substantially improving container carrying ability. It is already clear from the advanced order situation that there is significant demand in the marketplace for such a class of vessel.
Design Specifics The Fantasy is an open, multi-purpose geared dry cargo container and self trimming dry bulk carrier. It measures 594 ft. (181 m) long with a beam of 85-ft. (26 m). Construction is to American Bureau of Shipping's (ABS) standards, classed A1 (E) Multi-purpose Dry Cargo/Container Carrier, Strengthened for heavy cargoes. In addition, Fantasy meets all national and international maritime regulations as applicable to a vessel of its size and type.
A detailed analysis of the hull structure has been carried out using finite element techniques as part of the ABS DLA (Dynamic Loading Approach) program. The ABS SafeHull program has also been used as part of the structural analysis. In form, the hull is conventional, with five holds forward of the bridge/machinery block. It incorporates a bulbous bow and openwater transom stern.
Construction includes a double hull to comply with future requirements for ballast handling in restricted waters. To eliminate the carriage of ballast water in the cargo holds, ballast capacity of 10,900-cu.-m. is provided. In addition, the double hull ensures the holds are as rectangular as required for the carriage of containers. Grain and bale capacity are 36,311 and 35,452-cu.-m. respectively. One unusual feature of the hull is the fitting of a wake equalizing duct, designed and patented by the Shanghai Ship Research Institute for reducing end vibration and for save energy. Testing of the device, in conjunction with a stern bulb, indicated energy savings of four to six percent. In practice, trials of Clipper Fantasy, which does not incorporate a stern bulb, returned energy savings of a similar level. Each of the five holds is closed by flat-topped, double-skin, hydraulically operated folding steel hatch covers, designed by the Marine Equipment Division of Nakata Mac Corp. For cargo handling, firve Libherr pedestal electro-hydraulic deck cranes are provided.
Much emphasis in the Fantasy design has been placed on container capability, and up to 1,130 TEUs are accommodated above and below deck, including 12 reefer units. Below deck stowage is in five tiers for a capacity of 680 TEUs. All containers are secured with Peck & Hale lashing arrangements. Ship load planning and evaluation is carried out on an HEC Cargomax Loading Instrument, supplied by Pacrim Martec Co. of San Francisco. Operating in Windows, it calculates basic ship stability and strength, damage stability, grain stability, tank ullage conversion, container entry with bay plan, container lashing and hull deflection.
All the holds are equipped with a smoke detection system from Unitor Ship Services, which also supplied a C02 fire extinguishing system for the engine room and holds. Other safety equipment includes two fully enclosed, 25-person lifeboats built by the Beihai Shipyard — one of which is designated as a rescue boat — and one six-person and two 25-person inflatable liferafts. The lifeboat davits have been supplied by the Zhenjiang Marine Auxiliary Machinery Works.
Propulsion for Clipper Fantasy comes from a Dalian-built MAN B&W 5S50MC, producing 5,760 kW at 115.9 rpm service rating (6,400 kW at 120 rpm maximum continuous rating). This powerplant drives a four-bladed propeller for a fully laden service speed of 14 knots with a daily fuel consumption of 23.5 tons. Total bunker capacity of l,300-cu.-m gives the ship an endurance of approximately 16,000 nm.
A shaft generator rated at 500- kW provides power when the main engine is running between 84 and 128 rpm. Additional electrical load is met by two diesel generator sets, each consisting of a Yanmar M200L-EN six-cylinder diesel rated at 552-kW at 720 rpm, and driving a Taiyo 500-kW/450 kVA alternator. The advantage of this arrangement is that during the voyage, power is produced by the low operating cost main engine and running time, hence maintenance costs, of the auxiliary sets, is greatly reduced. On board steam requirements are met by a Friedrich und Karl Bay composite boiler with MDO oil and exhaust gas firing.
Alfa Laval supplied the fuel treatment equipment, a system which includes two heavy fuel oil purifiers, one marine diesel oil purifier, a main engine lube oil purifier and filter and duplex fuel oil filter. The Fantasy design incorporates 28 pumps supplied by the Naniwa Pump Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Other engine room machinery installed includes: a Taiyo USC-50 R.C. oily water separator; a Taiymodel SBT-25 sewage treat- ment plant; flowmeter systems from Mar-In Controls B.V.; and a Sunflame incinerator model OSV- 30SA unit rated at 300,000 kCal/h. The hydraulic steering gear fitted is from Porsgrunn Steering Gear AS, produced in Norway. The specific model fitted is designated 425- 80/2 and has an effective torque of 760 kNm at 60 bars working pressure. Clipper Fantasy is outfitted with all requisite safety, navigation and communications equipment including INMARSAT B and C, and a full GMDSS outfit. The bridge is configured for One-Man Bridge Operation (OMBO) with a large console across the front containing the main navigation and machinery control instrumentation. The radar outfit has been supplied by Kelvin Hughes, and comprises a pair of Nucleus 2 series 6000 units — one an ARPA display and the other a true motion dis play. Both have full color displays and, for ease of use, are operated by a single trackball and three buttons. Additional navigation and communications systems include: a JRC model JLR-6000MKz GPS navigation receiver; Sperry magnetic compass, gyrocompass and adaptive digital gyropilot; JRC MF/HF radio; an INMARSAT C station; and two VHF radio telephones. ABB supplied the INMARSAT B station, fax and telex terminals, and OKI supplied the vessel's the internal telephone system.
The fourth Fantasy class vessel is scheduled to be delivered to German owners this October. The remainder of the delivery program currently runs through to April 1998, when the tenth vessel should be ready. Negotiations are reported to be underway.
