Becker Marine Systems has delivered the largest Becker Mewis Duct® ever made with a diameter of 8.10 m for the construction of Very Large Crude Oil Carriers (VLCC) at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for Samco Shipholding, Singapore. This order is just one example of the excellent reception being given to the Becker Mewis Duct®, especially in the Korean shipbuilding market.

Initial sea trials of the new VLCC with a length of 319.0 m have proven once more the excellent rate of power savings provided by the Becker Mewis Duct®. Fuel savings of about 5 % were measured, lowering operating costs for the lifetime of the ship. These fuel savings also reduce CO2 emissions by 2,800 t per year for each VLCC. These numbers speak for themselves and convinced Samco to equip all four VLCC of this series constructed at Hyundai Samho with the Becker Mewis Duct®.

Every week Becker’s sales team receives more than ten Becker Mewis Duct® enquiries from Korea. Korean shipyards build a lot of tankers and bulkers in sizes ranging from 30,000 to 320,000 dwt. This is the perfect size for the Becker Mewis Duct® and always result in substantial rates of fuel savings. Among other ESD’s (Energy Saving Devices) the Becker Mewis Duct® is the only solution combining the three principles of ESD’s in a non-linear interaction: wake field equalisation, reduction of hub vortex and contra-rotating swirl. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has thus ordered four Becker Mewis Duct® for an Italian owner, and two more for an owner from Monaco. Also STX has ordered the first three Becker Mewis Duct® for the newbuilding of 50,000 dwt bulkers for a Danish owner and an addition order of four for a Greece owner already followed. Only the first quarter of 2012 Becker already received orders for approximately 100 Becker Mewis Duct®, as much as Becker Marine Systems received during the last year.

Advantages of the Becker Mewis Duct®:

• Fuel savings in average 6 %
• Fuel savings up to 8 % in combination with a Becker Rudder
• Reduction of NOX and CO2 emissions
• Suitable for newbuildings and retrofits
• Reduced vibrations and pressure pulses
• No moving parts, no service necessary
• Return on investment in about 1 year
• Installation time approximately 4 days