Maritime design and engineering company Vuyk Engineering has thrown its horse into the race to decarbonise the project cargo fleet with a new Eco-Friendly Transport Vessel (EFTV) design. Vuyk noted the design comes as a response to the demands for fuel economy and speeding up port operations.

The design is lauded as a real workhorse, a starting point of the new EFTV. The design features two cranes with a lifting capacity of 800 tonnes each. In order to achieve lower fuel consumption, the vessel has a small beam. And additionally, a maximum deck size has been taken into account.

Vuyk Engineering reshapes the hull

Following the requirement of having a large deck area and a reduced beam, a smart solution was initially found in the hull shape. The shape combines a reduced beam on the waterline, resulting in lower fuel consumption, with a large deck area. This reduced beam is the perfect trade-off between low fuel cost and heavy loading. Significant fuel savings can be achieved compared to existing, comparable vessels at the same speed. Considering a common rating of 85 percent MCR, the EFTV consumes about 25 percent fuel per mile less at a reduced sailing speed. With this energy-efficient design, the vessel scores well below the future lowest EEDI levels.

Innovation for faster port operations

Besides features for reducing fuel consumption smart solutions are investigated to speed up port operations. The EFTV will be equipped with an automated stabiliser pontoon. Vuyk noted this is a very effective way to increase the stability of the ship for hoisting operations while maintaining the reduced beam for sailing. The stabilising pontoon is placed in front the of the cargo space, to keep the cargo deck as large as possible and clear of any obstacles. It can be launched with an automatic system, completely operated independent to the cargo cranes. It is considered an inherently safe operation for the crew.

Tweendeck

Furthermore, a tweendeck handling system is placed in the cargo hold below the main hatches. This makes it possible to handle the tweendeck hatches independent to the cargo cranes, and therefore without the need of opening the main hatches. Tweendeck handling is done by an overhead crane in the hold. The crane can also be used for handling small parts, again independently to deck cranes and main hatches. The tweendeck handling system is combined with a piggy-back system to handle the main hatches. With this automated system, hatch handling operations can even start before entering port, reducing the time in port considerably.

Due to these solutions, a large flexibility is created for handling both tweendeck hatches and main hatches. This gives the opportunity to speed up the port operations significantly by handling things simultaneously. The automatic stabilizing pontoon will be easy to handle and can be operated by just one man from the navigation bridge. Re-positioning is no longer needed due to the depth of the pontoon.