A couple of years prior to the worldwide financial crisis – starting in the second half 2008 – the shipping industry experienced ever increasing ordering activity. A massive wave of orders for 10,000+ TEU ships accounted for a large portion of the expected increase in capacity. The trend towards employing bigger and bigger ships on trades servicing growing economies and emerging trade lanes faced one major challenge. As ship sizes increase, so do the requirements related to port facilities and capabilities. This is particularly the case with regard to draught restrictions, length restrictions and the crane outreach and lifting capacity. Even though there are many ports in the emerging markets and growing economies too that are well capable of servicing even the biggest of ships, there are still a number of ports that will have challenges and limitations for a considerable time to come. DNV foresees a market potential in the 5,000–7,500 TEU segment, as there are a number of growing economies and emerging trade lanes that will require relatively smaller, more compact ships with features such as shallow draught and high reefer capacity. One example of this is the trade to and from the east coast of South America. This trade is assumed to have a strong future growth potential and is likely to require shallow draught ships in many of the ports along the cost. Furthermore, this trade is expected to require ships with a high intake of reefer containers, as there are substantial exports of fruit, meat and other perishable goods. The list of ships ordered in the 5,000 – 7,500 TEU segment is also substantial, but it is dominated by ships at the upper end of this segment and often with relatively standard designs. The number of new buildings at the lower end, i.e. around 5,500 TEU with a high reefer intake and a shallow draught, is limited. These ships have several deployment options on both the established and emerging trade lanes (including through the new Panama Canal) and could become the industry’s new ‘workhorse ships’ over the next few years. They will be highly relevant for both intercontinental trades, especially trades to and from Africa and South America, and large feeder routes such as the ‘Intra Persian Gulf’ trade. Existing and emerging markets also offer opportunities for new ship designs including United States import. The US has suffered the most from the present crisis, but is also expected to recover the quickest. Import from South America is expected to increase. Other large economies are also expected to grow fast, leading to increased imports of consumer goods, thus expecting high export volumes from South America, particularly perishable goods in reefer containers.
Design concept
DNV used workshops and brainstorming sessions to come up with a new ship design by using the best available technology. Consideration was also given to the fact that we are in a period with difficult market conditions and little ordering of new buildings but steadily increasing environmental awareness. Deciding on a time perspective of 3–5 years, more long-term solutions such as fuel cells were ruled out, while introducing LNG into the fuel mix was found to be feasible. A sensitivity analysis with respect to design speed was also carried out. Not surprisingly, it was found that lowering the design speed is a very effective way of reducing the operational costs and environmental impact. There was some concern that ships with lower design speed may be less attractive when the market conditions improve, however, as a return to cheap oil seems unlikely and consumers’ environmental concerns are continuously increasing, DNV believes that a shift to lower design speeds is the right way to go in the future. Innovative solutions were considered within areas such as hull design, machinery systems, propulsion systems, materials, cargo handling and operational efficiency, and the solutions were investigated with respect to market adaptability, fabrication adaptability and fitness for purpose. A customer survey was used to evaluate the needs and alternative solutions. Some solutions were then chosen for further investigation with respect to technical and economic feasibility. The solutions were not only to look innovative but should also demonstrate real improved performance. During this process, many ‘innovative’ concepts such as catamaran and trimaran hulls were discarded. In the end, the most promising concept was selected for initial concept development, which was followed by detailed technical development as well as verification analyses. Finally, the Quantum concept was born.
New design
The design of the hull is similar to that of an aircraft carrier with an overhang shape of 3.25m on each side (total width is 49m) above the waterline, creating a 10% increase in cargo capacity. The wide-deck mono-hull will feature double-bottom ballast tanks and narrow empty void spaces in the wings. The ‘baby’ post-panamax vessel is designed for a range of speeds with an ideal speed of 21 knots for a 6,500 TEU. In assessing the power requirements, the concept model suggests a dual fuel configuration that powers a pair of thrusters. The team chose 33 MW as the maximum power supply to cover the needs for a design speed of about 21 knots [a design speed of 25 knots would require 50 MW of propulsion, while a four-knot drop required less than half that power load].This also covers the power needed for up to 1,200 reefer plugs and to have enough power in reserve for any scheduled delays or unforeseen emergency requirements. The concept also indicates that marine diesel oil would be used for the trans-ocean passage and LNG for the coastal legs. Therefore the vessel is equipped with a pair of 2,500cm3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks, which would be placed directly under the accommodation block, where the engine room normally would be located. The deck overhang will be a hindrance at some ports, especially when the ship berths at the quay [it could ‘hit’ the leg of the container crane], but DNV is confident that the use of floating fender systems [maybe permanently installed on-board] could avoid these issues. DNV are also considering the use of self-inflating fenders stored in the void space of the overhang that could be inflated on the shore-facing side of the ship when in port. The Quantum design is 49m wide at deck level and DNV is confident that this is not an issue for ports or terminal. However, the company believes that ports in emerging markets will extend their lifting capacity and install container cranes that are able to take these ships as the market develops. Another consideration given to the design is that there are some draught limitations in both South America and India giving limitations of the vessels that can enter these areas and therefore a 12m draught was found to be optimum.