LR, Cargill, Minerva Dry and NACKS have teamed up to develop a new, energy efficient and methanol ready Kamsarmax bulk carrier design.
Lloyd’s Register (LR), Cargill International, Minerva Dry Inc. and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co Ltd (NACKS) have collaborated on the design of a Kamsarmax bulk carrier with methanol and rotor sail capability, as the result of a Joint Development Project (JDP) established in 2022.
The JDP included input on user requirements from one of the largest dry bulk operators, Cargill, and brought together the operational experience of ship owner Minerva Dry with the design expertise of leading Chinese shipyard NACKS. LR acted as a trusted adviser throughout the joint development project as the sole classification society for the design of this unique vessel.
Nikos Kakalis, Global Bulk Carriers Segment Director, Lloyd’s Register, stated that it is absolutely vital that stakeholders across the maritime value chain continue to work together to provide commercially viable bulk carriers to meet the sector’s demands whilst prioritising designs that comply with tightening GHG emission regulations, as evidenced by this JDP.
We are at a time when the shipping industry is undergoing a transformation process caused mainly by the rapid technological advancement and the requirements and targets set towards the Decarbonisation of our industry.
… reminded Kostas Papadodimas, Technical Manager, Minerva Dry
Meanwhile, Chris Hughes, Decarbonisation Specialist, Cargill International, clarified that rather than starting with a conventional fuelled design and adding on some limited “readiness” they essentially designed a methanol fuelled ship first, and worked backwards from there for the methanol-ready version.
Mingfeng Lu, Technical Director, NACKS said that by optimizing the hull form and implementation of energy saving devices, the vessel provides significant improvement in energy efficiency comparing with the last generation of Kamsarmax BC.
Mingfeng Lu also added that it can satisfy the requirement of EEDI Phase 3 by using conventional fuel, with the potential for greater improvement in it following the utilization of wind propulsion and methanol fuel in the future.
To remind, a few days ago Diana Shipping, ordered two 81,200 dwt methanol dual fuel new-building Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels. Additionally, MOL Drybulk and Kambara Kisen Co., signed a basic agreement on time charter for a newbuilding methanol dual fuel bulk carrier to be ordered and owned by Kambara Kisen.
