Atlantic Container Line has signed a contract with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding to build the five largest RORO/Containerships (CONROs) in the world. The G4 (Generation 4) vessels will replace ACL’s existing fleet of G3 CONROs operating in the company’s transatlantic service. The new vessels will be the first of their type ever built.
They will be bigger, faster, greener and more efficient than their predecessors. The G4’s will have a container capacity of 3800 TEUs plus 28,900 square meters of RORO space, with a car capacity of 1307 vehicles. Speed will be increased by 10%, yet fuel consumption per TEU will be reduced by 50%. The new ships will continue to employ cell-guides on deck, a feature that will allow ACL to extend an enviable record: its ships have never lost a container over the side during the last 30 years. All five vessels will be delivered in 2015.
The innovative design was the brainchild of International Maritime Advisors (IMA) of Dragoer, Denmark, who successfully solved the problem of high ballast on CONRO vessels.
Virtually all CONRO vessels today stow containers on deck and lighter RORO cargo underdeck. Because of the significant air space that naturally occurs on RORO decks compared to the denser stowage of containers, most of the weight rides high on a standard CONRO vessel, requiring a great deal of ballast for stability.
IMA developed the concept of putting all the RORO cargo midships, and stowing the containers in cells fore and aft of the RORO section. This results in cargo replacing ballast and much more efficient use of vessel space. State-owned Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (HZ) of Shanghai has a reputation as one of the highest quality shipyards in China.
They have built over 3,000 ships including complicated special purpose vessels and naval vessels. HZ commissioned Knud E. Hansen of Helsingor, Denmark to adapt the IMA CONRO concept to ACL’s requirements. Quality control was a very important consideration in ACL’s choice of a shipyard. HZ’s quality control systems, their professionalism and innovative ideas won over both ACL and its parent company Grimaldi.
