Page 41: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 1998)

GREAT SHIPS OF 1998

Southampton

Containership

Shipbuilder

Vessel name

Vessel type

Owner/ operator

With the stakes being raised the whole time in the mainstream liner trades, P&O Nedlloyd has put a new edge on its competitive endeavors in the Europe-eastern

Asia traffic by introducing a post-

Panamax containership class incorporating record-breaking propulsive power.

P&O Nedlloyd Southampton brought a 6,690-TEU unit capacity and astonishing force of 89,640- bhp (65,880-kW) to the Anglo-

Dutch company's Loop One weekly express service, requiring extremely rapid transits and com- plete operational dependability to ensure 56-day round-voyage pat- terns. Leading a current series of four from the Kure yard of

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy

Industries (IHI), the impressive addition to the P&O Nedlloyd fleet provides a technological response to the intense commercial pres- sures to which liner operators are subject.

Although the contract had been awarded to the Japanese builder by P&O Containers, the subse- quent amalgamation with Nedl- loyd has seen the second and fourth vessels of the series, P&O

Nedlloyd Rotterdam and P&O

Nedlloyd Kowloon, assigned to the

Dutch flag, while P&O Nedlloyd

Southampton and third-of-class

P&O Nedlloyd Kobe bring a post-

Panamax dimension to the British mercantile marine.

The extra revenue-earning potential encompassed by the new generation: the 140 ft. (42.8 m) beam is more than 32.8 ft. (10 m) greater than that to which box- ships navigating the Panama

Canal are constrained. Such is the breadth that it enables 17 rows of containers to be stowed across the weatherdeck and hatches, and 15- across below-decks, albeit restrict- ed to 13 at tank top level. The weatherdeck lattice of lashing bridges enhances freight security while expediting cargo working.

The eight holds accommodate 3,406-TEU in total, the balance of 3,284-TEU slots being above- decks. Considerable stow position flexibility is displayed by the beamy design, due to deadweight,

December, 1998 metacentric height and stability characteristics, and the shipowner sees scope to add a further tier to the present maximum six-high on deck given sufficient gantry clear- ance at the various terminals.

A new, 'intelligent' container securing, planning and monitoring system, devised by BMT SeaTech of Southampton and dubbed Cargo

Secure, has achieved its first refer- ence aboard the P&O Nedlloyd sis- ters. P&O Nedlloyd Southampton is a showcase for two-stroke diesel propulsion, whereby a single 12- cylinder Sulzer RTA96C engine delivering an unsurpassed 89,640- bhp is direct-coupled to a fixed- pitch propeller, at a through-line rotational speed of 100 rpm.

As the most potent installation at sea today, the 2,030-ton prime mover applies knowledge gained by Wartsila NSD with the large (Continued on page 52) !he first two can save your life. The third can save you money.

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