Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has presented the hull design for its next-generation car carrier FLEXIE that will be constructed at Minaminippon Shipbuilding Co. and is slated for delivery in 2017.
MOL says the rounded bow shape is going to minimize wind resistance and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by about 2% compared to today’s car carriers.
The company has already developed the wind resistance-reducing car carrier Courageous Ace, the new energy-saving windshield for containerships to reduce wind resistance, and a new prototype sailing rig called the Power Assist Sail.
In April 2015, MOL announced the contract for the construction of the FLEXIE series which adopts a new deck design. In line with the new design, the number of decks are changed from the current 12 to 14 and the number of liftable decks increased from two to six. This means two adjustable decks can be placed between two fixed decks.
The car carriers are to be equipped with an electronically-controlled diesel engine with Low Load Optimisation (LLO) tuning by Exhaust Gas Bypass (EGB) technology, adopting waste heat energy recovery system for generator engines and electric power consumption reduction technology.