Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas
is to class three Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCSs) to be built for
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and chartered to French
operator CMA CGM. The ships are due for delivery in 2015.The 16,000 teu vessels will be the largest container ships built in
China to date. One will be built at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) yard, and the other two at Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Heavy
Industry, part of which came under the management of SWS this year.In recent years, Chinese shipyards have secured orders for
increasingly large box ships, and the three new 16,000 teu ships are
only a fraction smaller than the largest container vessels being built
today in Korea. The design was developed by the Marine Design and
Research Institute of China (MARIC) in co-operation with BV, which
performed the drawing approval and conducted a thorough structural
examination.The vessels will have an overall length of 399 m, a beam of 54 m, and a draft of 16 m. Special consideration has been given to hydroelastic
design (whipping and springing) issues, which are so important for this
size of ship. A hydroelastic examination was performed using BV’s HOMER
software in order to take into account extreme whipping loads due to
slamming and additional fatigue damage due to springing, factoring in
the elastic structural response of the ship. This review provides a
higher level of safety compared to the rigid approach traditionally
adopted to such issues, and is mandatory under BV Rules for ULCSs of 300 m and above. On the strength of this examination, BV’s WhiSp2 notation
has been assigned to the ships.The vessels will be also granted BV’s VeriSTAR HULL DFL 25-year
notation, which certifies various structural details, including hatch
corners and coamings, for 25 years of fatigue life, following a spectral fatigue analysis with a 3D finite element analysis model. The
importance of fatigue for large container ships, which generally lack
torsional rigidity and become more elastic with size, has been confirmed by real measurements on board ULCSs classed by BV.The 16,000 teu ships will be able to operate at a maximum speed of
over 23 knots with a single-screw propeller directly coupled to a 69
Megawatt, 2-stroke electronic engine. The vessels’ environmentally
friendly profile is attested to by BV’s class notations CLEANSHIP and
FORS. The latter incorporates special arrangements to ensure that the
ship’s fuel oil tanks are safely emptied in case of emergency,
minimizing the risk of pollution. This is an important safety aspect
considering the size of the fuel oil tanks of ULCSsSteel cutting for the new vessels is due to begin next year and the ships are expected to be delivered in 2015.Bureau Veritas, October 10, 2013
SHIPBUILDING
10 October 2013 - 21:05
Bureau Veritas to Class Largest Container Ships Built in China
Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas is to class three Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCSs) to be built for China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and chartered to French operator CMA CGM.
SHIPBUILDING
10 October 2013 - 21:05
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