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Germany October 2005 41 A value-added approach to ship design, coupled with a continuous striv- ing to raise productivity and quality through investments in technological tools and a commitment to research, is a mark of the industrial will that has seen Germany maintain competitiveness in fields of shipbuilding increasingly tar- geted by eastern Asian yards. Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft encapsulates such endeavor, having emerged as one of the world's most pro- lific producers of large RoRo vessels. At a time when Europe's shipbuilding industry faces the most intense pressure from the orient in almost every sphere of commercial tonnage, as yet largely bar cruiseships, the Flensburg yard has demonstrated price as well as design competitiveness, along with the requi- site build quality and delivery perform- ance, through a succession of export RoRo freight ship projects. Its current workload includes two RoRo/container carriers for Cobelfret of Antwerp and a trio of double-enders for British Columbia (BC) Ferries of Canada, besides a trailership series for the enter- prising Turkish carrier UN RoRo and a sixth North Sea freight RoRo of the 3,831 lane-meter Tor Magnolia breed for DFDS. The latest trailership deliveries to UN RoRo express the strong link forged between FSG and the Turkish operator. Assigned to the service connecting northern Italy with the Istanbul area, the 29,000-gt Saffet Ulusoy and Marmara are the first pair in a new class of four freight carriers of 3,735 lane-metres, representing the third series of RoRos ordered from Flensburg for UN's eastern Mediterranean mainline traffic. UN Ro- Ro has made its name in the trailership sector, having created a direct channel for Turkish trade with western Europe, by offering Turkish hauliers an alterna- tive to the overland route through Bulgaria and Serbia. The company's initial contract with FSG saw the handover during 2000 of two 2,640 lane-meter, three-deck multi- purpose RoRos, Und Akdeniz and Und Karadeniz. These were followed in 2001 and 2002 by a quartet of four-deck trail- erships of 3,256 lane-meter capacity, the Und Ege type. Although built to the same main dimensions as the Und Ege series, the Saffet Ulusoy class signifies a further increase in payload to 3,735 lane-meters, mainly through provision for additional trailers on the weath- erdeck. The design also denotes an anticipative approach towards develop- ments in trailer weights. Two newbuilds entrusted to FSG by Belgian shipping company Cobelfret will each offer a RoRo stowage of about 3,900 lane-meters, corresponding to about 258 trailers, and a container intake of 848-TEU on four of the cargo decks. The ships are categorized as ConRo (container/RoRo) carriers by virtue of their dual capability, and are dubbed Humbermax vessels due to optimization for trade into the Killingholme terminal on the UK's North Sea fringe. The five-deck design is intended to allow Cobelfret to meet forecast traffic growth. The RoRo volume is akin to that of the new generation of DFDS Tor Line trailerships of the Tor Magnolia class, six of which have been ordered to date from the Flensburg yard. The double-ender contract, awarded after BC Ferries had considered bid sub- missions from nine yards in Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway and South Korea, again demonstrates the high competence level of the Flensburg yard in building complex RoRo ships. Criteria for yard selection included the design and construction plan, recent experience in building large ferries, ref- erences from other customers of the yard, financial stability and the ability to provide guarantees. A particular techni- cal requirement was that the double- enders should incorporate the highest standards with regard to noise and Flensburg Takes Control of the RoRo Niche MR OCTOBER 2005 #6 (41-48).qxd 9/29/2005 8:24 AM Page 41
