Deltamarin has signed an agreement with Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry about the design of totally seven new Equinox Class Self Unloading and Gearless Bulk Carriers to be built for Algoma Central Corporation and the Canadian Wheat Board. Deltamarin will take care of the Basic and Detail design of the vessels as well as Procurement support. The vessels are derivatives of Deltamarin’s B.delta standard bulker designs, which have piqued the interest of the market with their improved cubic capacity and lower fuel consumption compared to competing designs.
The ship concepts for the bulk carriers were created by Deltamarin for Algoma. The cooperation between the owners and Deltamarin has lead to many improvements to current designs. Deltamarin is well known for the use of 3D product modelling techniques, which has enabled functional general arrangements with efficient space utilisation and correct space reservations in the vessels. Deltamarin’s research for B.delta37 and B.delta64 standard designs was utilized in developing the hull form and other features of the vessels.
The vessel concept is designed for traffic on the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaways. The overall length will be 225.55 m and the beam 23.77 m. The service speed at design draught is 14.0 knots. The deadweight is about 38,000 metric tonnes at scantling draught. The vessels have 5 cargo holds and can take 39,000 m3 of cargo. Deltamarin has kept sustainability and safety as main focus areas during the concept development process while simultaneously focusing on the cost efficiency of the concept.
The lower operating costs and added cargo capacity of Deltamarin’s standard designs make the B.delta designs tempting. The lower light ship weight resulting in less required steel as well as the optimized hull form benefit the shipyards as well.
The value of the contractual design work for the Self Unloading and Gearless Bulk Carriers is approximately 50 man-years. The work will be carried out at Deltamarin’s offices in Europe and Deltamarin’s partner network in China.
Source: www.deltamarin.com