On April 30, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. held a launching ceremony for the first of a new type of ship, the TESS45BOX (45,400-ton box-type bulk carrier).
TESS45BOX is a newly developed ship subsequent to the TESS45 45,000-ton bulk carrier, of which a total of 69 vessels had been built since the 1990s.
She covers the diversified patterns of calling at port for bulk carriers ranging from 37,000 to 45,000 tons. At 183 meters in length, this new model is 3 meters shorter than the TESS45 (45,000 ton type bulk carrier), and this more compacted size enables the ship class to meet more flexible combinations of port calls.
A new box shape (for box-shaped cargo) has been adopted in this model, to enable high efficiency loading and shipment requirements not only of bulk cargo such as grain and coal but also of square-shaped cargo such as pulp and steel products such as pipes.
This increases value for customers, by facilitating loading and unloading of cargo through wide access area, and also by increasing efficiency in cargo handling and maintenance. Various improvements in hull shape and environment devices over the 30 year development of the TESS series have been introduced as well, and these have resulted in a more energy-saving vessel, which has about 13% higher fuel efficiency than the one of TESS45.
TESS45BOX was developed and reintroduced to the market in 2011, and seven orders of this type ship have been received so far (as of the end of April 2014).
The first vessel to be built is one of three that were ordered in April 2012. This ship will be completed in early June 2014.
Other two vessels of the same type are under construction at Tsuneishi Group (Zhoushan) Shipbuilding and are scheduled to be completed in 2014.
[mappress] Tsuneishi, May 9, 2014