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NEW DESIGN CONCEPT "TANKER OF THE FUTURE" Unique, two-part tanker design from Norway aims to help save time and money Many companies exhibiting at the SMM exhi- bition — staged every other year in Hamburg, Germany — are known for delivering large, eye-catching and, in general, spectacular exhi- bition booths. The 1996 edition was no excep- tion. However, one of the more interesting dis- plays was found in a standard-sized space, housed in the large Norwegian Pavillion. In the Pick Up Cat AS stand was a television play- ing a simulation of the Pick Up Cat (PUC) con- cept, a self-contained catamaran containing power and steering functions, as well as an interchangable cargo unit. "Our transport solution has huge potential," said Dag Aavitsland, managing director of Pick Up Cat AS. "Originally the concept was intended for liquid cargo, but it can easily be adapted to suit other areas of seaborne trans- portation." Mr. Aavitsland is the inventor of the PUC concept, and owns 46 percent of the company. The concept reportedly enables a small num- ber of power units to manage a large number of cargo units. The assembled units appear visu- ally as a homogenous hull, and are designed to retain the same strength and seaworthiness as traditional hull construction. The new concept is designed so that time spent disconnecting the catamaran from one cargo unit and connecting it to another is less than two hours. This can effectively reduce time in port, as well as permit savings in onshore storing facilities, as the cargo units can be utilized as floating storage. The catamaran unit is designed with two separate engines with propellers to offer increased reliability and maneuvering abilities. In August, a large model of the ship was tested at the Danish Maritime Institute. The 24.6 ft. (7.5-m) model went through several tests in the wave pool, and the construction reportedly functioned according to design. For more information on the Pick Up Cat Circle 199 on Reader Service Card [p« (yjtp 15,000 MT DWT FFCC (Fresh Fish Cargo Carrier) Main Particulars Hull type catamaran double shell/double bottom Length b.p 459 ft. (140 m) Breadth 68.9 ft. (21 m) Depth 39.4 ft. (12 m) Design draft 27.8 ft. (8.5 m) Block coefficient approx. (.80) Main engines approx. 8,000 - 12,000 bhp Service speed approx. 14-20 knots Capacity approx. 3,500 mt fresh fish The Pick Up Cat concept was touted as the "tanker of the future" at the recent SMM '96 exhibition. Pick Up Cat AS of Norway is reportedly already in discussions with inter- ested licensees. I
