Coal-Burning Bulkers Ordered From Yards In Italy And Japan

Orders were placed recently for the first four of a new generation of coal-burning ships. Two 75,000-dwt coal-fired bulk carriers have been ordered by Bulkships Ltd., the ship-owning arm of Australia's Thomas Nationwide Transport Group, from the Monfalcone Division of Italy's Italcantieri Shipbuilding Group.

Two additional 75,000-dwt, coalfired bulkers have been ordered by the Australian National Lines from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Nagasaki yard. All four ships will be classed by Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

These ships will all be powered by steam turbine plants supplied by coal-fired boilers. They will use well established methods of coal burning, as well as highly automated handling of their bulk cargoes.

Several economic studies have shown that the world demand for coal as an energy source will increase from now until the end of the century. This makes this first generation of coal-burning ships of particular technical importance.

Lloyd's Register has shown keen interest in the use of coal as an alternative fuel for merchant ships. The British classification society recently published a booklet on the subject titled Guidance Notes for the Burning of Coal in Ships' Boilers.

Other stories from September 15, 1980 issue

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First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.