Kongsberg Maritime and Deltamarin have developed a new design for a feeder containership, known as Cobalt Blue that they believe presents a critical migration path for shipowners to manage the coming transition in fuels while also providing other innovations to increase the efficiency of operations.
As explained, the design has been reviewed by classification society DNV and received Approval in Principle.
This independent assessment of our design concept has confirmed that the Cobalt Blue, with all its innovative features, is a feasible proposition with no major obstacles to enable it becoming reality.
..said Oskar Levander, Kongsberg Maritime’s SVP, Business Concepts.
The container feeder market will need to go through fleet renewal in the coming years and owners will be carefully considering their options. With future emissions reductions in mind, future ships will have to include the use of alternative fuels and this design will enable owners to invest in a vessel that can evolve over time.
..added.
With the ship’s the modular design, there is room for adding future innovations. It can be built now with a dual-fuel main engine, that will run on LNG or diesel fuels. Then there is the possibility to switch to low carbon fuels such as biogas, synthetic methane or ammonia in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Oskar Levander said: “Furthermore, it can transition onto green ammonia fuel with a small pre-planned conversion to allow for zero carbon operation. The vessel can easily be reconfigured to accommodate the additional tanks required for alternative fuels and there can also be room for battery containers to enable emission-free operation close to port.”
There is no requirement for heavy cargo hatches and the forward deckhouse will help protect the cargo from green water coming onto the ship.
The range of KONGSBERG equipment on the vessel can also extend to include propulsion and control systems and an active stabiliser system with intelligent weather routing and steering to minimise the risk of cargo loss.
