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EUROPEAN UPDATE European money backs standard cargo carrier concept 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 fea- tured a tonnage capacity approximately 50 per- cent greater than the Liberty ships, with a ser- vice 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 con- stant 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 by Carol Fulfonl & Andy Smith contributina editors "luropean finance has secured a [major interest in a series of new, istandard-design cargo vessels | being built by the Dalian _%Shipyard in China. The first, Cupper Fantasy, has now been deliv- ered to her owners and chartered to Denmark's East Asiatic Company. Scandinavian and German compa- nies, incorporating numerous joint ventures, constitute the lead investors in this and the nine additional con- firmed 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 han- dling facilities are basic, or even non-existent. In the past, this requirement was met by the improving container carrying ability. It is already clear from the advanced order situation that there is significant demand in the market- place 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) stan- dards, classed A1 (E) Multi-purpose Dry Cargo/Container Carrier, Strengthened for heavy cargoes. In addition, Fantasy meets all national and international maritime regula- tions as applicable to a vessel of its size and type. A detailed analysis of the hull structure has been carried out using finite element tech- niques 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, bal- last capacity of 10,900-cu.-m. is pro- vided. In addition, the double hull ensures the holds are as rectangular as required for the carriage of con- tainers. Grain and bale capacity are 36,311 and 35,452-cu.-m. respective- ly. 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 con- junction 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 20 (^L^ Telenor Maritime Reporter/Engineering News