Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2005)

Hand-in-hand with the accelerated development in the size of long-haul container vessels must come changes in the structure, design and deployment of the feedership fleet. According to David

Tozer, Lloyd's Register's Business

Manager for Container Ships, some 1,300 new vessels will be required to accommodate anticipated cargo growth in the feeder trades up to 2012. The cal- culation is based on projections of a doubling in trade volume in feeder and intra-regional operations during the period 2002-2012.

Moreover, around 600 newbuilds will also be needed to replace existing ton- nage over the same timeframe, suggest- ing a total demand in the order of 1,900 ships. Assumptions regarding fleet renewal stem from an analysis which indicated that up to 40 percent of feeder- ships worldwide were at least 15 years old, suggesting that much of the tonnage involved would be removed from the market by 2010.

For 1,900 or so vessels to be intro- duced into service by 2012 would neces- sitate an annual infusion of newbuilds at a rate well in excess of current levels. In the opening edition of Container Ship

Focus, a technical publication produced by LR, Tozer is reported as taking the view that the lack of efficient, modern feeder tonnage poses a major threat to the container sector, and could potential- ly compromise the industry's investment in new, large post-panamax capacity. "There is a clear need for modern feeder designs which are flexible yet tar- geted, but so far there is little evidence that this opportunity has been realized, and few orders have been placed," said

Tozer. LR, in association with Ocean

Shipping Consultants, has identified a range of feeder designs, each optimized for a particular trading region. Tozer is of the view that the feeder trades could potentially become one of the most important sectors for the container industry. "But to date there has been a failure to recognize the scale of the future demand. Without proper invest- ment, the lack of capacity could con- strain demand and adversely impact on deepsea vessel economics," he said.

Recent figures have indicated that around half of all newbuild boxship capacity on order or under construction entails vessels of more than 6,000-TEU.

For sure, the overall containership orderbook does have the appearance of being out of balance, with its capacity orientation to a large number of very large vessels. Investment in smaller box- ships and feeders has been at a marked- ly lower level, to the extent that a seri- ous demand scenario has developed at the lower end of the size spectrum. 32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News spare parts procurement. In examining the case for perpetuating the single-engine solution beloved of the deepsea containership industry, the study team found that the output of a 14-cylinder diesel would be insufficient to achieve the specified speed, while a 16-cylinder engine was considered too large. Moreover, HHI deems that the maximum, practical size of propeller has been reached, at a diameter of 9.5-m and weight of 110-tons. A single-screw system for the conceptual vessel of 13,000-TEU would call for a propeller of a size, it was suggested, that would involve a great risk of cavitation. Furthermore, the extremely high power transmitted by a single shaft was also felt to represent a risk. The proposed new behemoth would also denote a departure from standard technical design by virtue of the arrangement of the deck- house in the forward part of the ship, rather than surmounting the engine room. 2-PART PAINT AND

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Investment in Design

LR: 1,900 New Containerships by 2012

Size comparison of container ships. The separation of deckhouse and engine room is clearly recognizable for the 13,000 TEU ship.

Circle 210 on Reader Service Card

Circle 212 on Reader Service Card (Continued from previous page)

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