Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has unveiled the conceptual design of its 'MALS-14000CS', a new Panamax 14,000TEU containership.
The MALS-14000CS adopts the company's proprietary Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS), which reduces frictional resistance between the vessel hull and seawater using air bubbles at the vessel bottom produced by air.
Incorporating the MALS, along with advanced high-efficiency ship hull design and propulsion system, the vessel will be capable of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide by 35 percent compared with container carriers of conventional design.
MHI has already installed the MALS on the 'Yamatai', a module carrier operated by NYK-Hinode Line, a subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and is verifying its CO2 reduction efficiency. MHI is expecting an approximate 10 percent cut.
The ship design, featuring a new hull form, places the bridge relatively forward, exhaust funnels at the stern, and additional container space under the accommodation quarter. The new ship design provides increased container carrying capacity, coupled with a two-engine, two-shaft propulsion system.