After a successful sea trial, the ship of German ship manager REEDEREI
NSB on July 1st reentered liner service for MSC, sailing between China
and South America. The MSC GENEVA is the first of altogether three NSB
ships that has been converted under the WIDENING project. The conversion
will enhance the competitive edge of panmax container freighters,
increase their operational efficiency and improve their carbon
footprint. This service is also offered to other ship owners and ship
managers by NSB’s subsidiary NSB Marine Solutions, and the demand for
future WIDENING projects has been rising.
As expected, the sea trial of the MSC GENEVA from June 19th to 21st went
without a hitch, and the class certificates showing the new main
dimensions were issued accordingly. On July 1st the MSC GENEVA
re-entered service, called Chiwan and will then operate on liner
service, sailing the Pacific Ocean between Asia and South America.
On June 18th NSB, its partners Huarun Dadong Shipyard (HRDD) and
Technolog GmbH, and some 150 guests celebrated the world premiere of the
first widened container freighter. On a tour of the widened ship in
Shanghai guests could see for themselves the advantages the innovative
concept, which was developed by REEDEREI NSB and realized in cooperation
with the Hamburg-based engineering office Technolog GmbH, offers.
“No one has ever cut a container ship longitudinally from the
superstructure to the bow to widen it. We are very proud of our team who
widened the MSC GENEVA and thus demonstrated the viability of our
concept. The ship will prove that it can keep up with the other carriers
that ply the world’s oceans,” Tim Ponath, Chief Operative Officer of
REEDEREI NSB, said at Xingchong Hotel in Shanghai at the official
celebration following the tour of the ship.
“With this project NSB has solidified its excellent global reputation as
a leading ship manager with a vision and pioneering spirit. It has
successfully upgraded one of three of its hips through widening, managed
to enhance the competitiveness of panmax vessels and improve the overall
economic framework,” Jifeng Wu, Managing Director of HRDD shipyard, said
in his speech at the festivities.
The developments in container ship building are extremely fast. Panmax
vessels delivered after 2004 are no longer competitive today; they may
even have to be scrapped at high cost before their expected lifespan is
up. REEDEREI NSB’S innovative WIDENING concept is a pioneering one that
makes older container freighters competitive by widening them.
Depending on the ship type, the conversion adds up to four container
rows to the ship, increasing the load-carrying capacity by about 30%.
Instead of 4,872 containers, a widened ship can load 6,336 boxes. Apart
from the load-carrying capacity, the conversion also increases the
ship’s transverse stability. On top, less ballast water is needed. The
WIDENING also improves the energy efficiency of the ship: carbon
emissions per ton of cargo are significantly lower. The IMO Energy
Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), which will apply from 2025 onward,
achieved by widened ships equals that of newbuildings.
WIDENING is another milestone in the comprehensive retrofitting
portfolio, which, thanks to modern technologies, makes ships fit for the
future. The offer, which is available to other ship owners and ship
managers via NSB’s subsidiary, NSB Marine Solutions, ranges from
efficiency-increasing measures such as the installation of optimized
bulbous bows, propellers and turbocharger cut-outs all the way to
computer-supported trimming assistants and performance monitoring tools.
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