German builder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) has received an order from Rolldock in the Netherlands for two identical newbuild vessels for transporting high-value project loads.
Construction of the two 151.5-metre long ships will start in February 2013 and delivery is planned during the first half of 2014. Each ship has a deadweight of 8,000 tonnes. When fully laden, the ships have a speed of 16 knots and are propelled by two diesel engines and a double propeller plant. Accommodation is provided for up to 32 people so that personnel accompanying sometimes highly complex and sensitive project loads can travel along with the crew.
The two ships will be innovative and highly flexible units suited to the widest possible range of project cargo. Loading and unloading pose the biggest challenges for this type of ship – on the new vessels cargo can be handled in three different ways. Two heavy-load cranes can move cargo weighing up to 700 tonnes. In addition, the ships have adjustable stern ramps and hatch covers, which can be adapted to differing quay heights in ports and so permit the loading or unloading of individual cargo up to 3,000 tonnes in weight in the classic RoRo manner. Finally the ships can be submerged by more than 12 metres to allow cargo to be floated in or out.
By integrating a ballast water treatment plant and applying the highest possible tank coating standards the vessels will meet future environmental protection requirements. As with all other FSG newbuildings, these ships also demonstrate the highest possible efficiency and have the lowest exhaust emission and fuel consumption rates.
The new contract secures the workload at FSG until the middle of 2014, securing employment for its 700 shipbuilders until then and perhaps even longer because Rolldock may order further ships of this type. For FSG, which has previously specialised in building RoRo and RoPax ships, this is the first step in the expansion of its production pallet. The company's order books also include two RoRo freight ferries for Seatruck Ferries in England, three RoRo freight ferries for Ulusoy Sealines in Turkey and a ConRo ship for Oceanex in Canada.
