View non-flash version
Circle 287 on Reader Service Card have been phased into the jointly-owned Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines'(WWL) operation, and four further sisters are under construction and on order with Mitsubishi. The South Korean joint ven- ture EUKOR Car Carriers, jointly con- trolled by Wilh Wilhelmsen, Wallenius Lines, and vehicle makers Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation, has recently ordered four PCTCs of 6,500-unit capacity. The ves- sels will be built at the Mokpo yard of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, for delivery during the first half of 2008. Germany Bolsters Boxship Role In the face of unremitting competition from eastern Asia, Germany has main- tained a significant European presence in containership construction, building on one of its longstanding areas of mar- itime technological prowess. In particu- lar, a succession of orders secured so far this year by the Aker Ostee yards in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has created one of the most extensive boxship new- build workloads outside South Korea. The combination of market-focused designs and efficient, time-minded pro- duction of a standardized offering has ensured continuity of work in the ship- building centers of Wismar and Rostock-Warnemuende, providing Germany's vibrant containership owning and operating community and others with viable domestic alternatives to berths in the Orient. With the sealing of the latest deal for two 2,741-TEU cellular vessels to the account of Rostock-based F.Laeisz, the order reserve of the Aker Ostsee pairing had risen to 20 container ships covering the 1,700-, 2,500-, and 2,700-TEU size classes by March 1. The Laeisz busi- ness, calling for deliveries of the CS2700 type vessels in the first and third quarter of 2007 at a total contract value of around EUR 80-million, is a further example of a returning client, since the Warnemuende yard completed two 2,600-TEU boxships for the compa- ny in 1996. The 37,570-dwt CS2700 design has main dimensions of 221.6-m length by 29.8-m width, and offers cargo carrying flexibility through substantial provision for temperature-controlled freight, by way of sockets for up to 400- FEU reefer boxes. A service speed of 22-knots is imbued by a two-stroke main engine of 20,580-kW. The work intake in the first two months of 2005 alone amounted to 10 newbuilds, including four CS2700 units for Koenig & Cie of Hamburg, also at some Euro 40-million apiece, and a series of four examples of the newly- developed CS1700 type to the account of the Hamburg shipowning and ship- management firm Thien & Heyenga. The 24,200-dwt CS1700 is 182-m long by 25.2-m wide, and its more notable features include 300 reefer sock- ets, a highly competitive, homogeneous load factor of 1,250-TEU at 14t per box, the adoption of protectively located fuel tanks, and powering by a 12,600-kW medium-speed diesel. Thien & Heyenga was already represented in the produc- tion program, by virtue of the four 2,700-TEU newbuilds booked last year on the basis of deliveries through the second half of 2006. Aker Ostsee's proprietor, the Norwegian-owned Aker Yards group, has demonstrated European shipbuild- ing resilience across a broader front, consolidating orderbooks and special fields of expertise with new contracts for its yards in Finland and western Norway, and drawing also on its ship- building resources in Romania. Following a succession of offshore sup- port vessel contracts awarded to its Norwegian shipbuilding interests, the group has recently signed a letter of intent(LOI) from Color Line for a sister to the Aker Finnyards-built Color Fantasy, the world's largest cruise ferry, plus an LOI from Royal Caribbean Cruises for a third Freedom-class ship to be constructed at Turku. The 339- m(1,112-ft) Freedom type has a gross measurement of 158,000-gt, reckoned to be 6-percent greater than today's largest cruise ship, and offers accommodation for 3,600 passengers, some 500 more than its predecessors in the Voyager series. Investment in Design 74 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News COMMERCIAL MARINE EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE CANARY ISLANDS FRUIT TERMINAL • ABP PORT OF SOUTHAMPTON TUESDAY-THURSDAY 14-16 JUNE 2005 ¦ Workboats ¦ Vessl Equipment ¦ Vessel Design & Construction ¦ Repair & Maintenance ¦ Marine Contracting ¦ Marine Renewable Energy ¦ Civil Engineering ¦ Harbour Services ¦ Port & Harbour Development ¦ Diving & Underwater Services ¦ Commercial Fishing www.seawork.com Tel: +44 (0)1329 820485 • Fax: +44 (0)1329 825330 • E-mail: info@seawork.com British Marine Federation In association with Register now on-line at: incorporating MR APRIL 2005 #10 (73-80).qxd 4/5/2005 9:16 AM Page 2
