SAL Heavy Lift and Jumbo Maritime, both part of the Jumbo-SAL-Alliance, have marked a milestone for their newly added deck carriers. Namely, one of the two long-term time-chartered deck carriers, MV Zhong Rhen 121, delivered its first cargo under the alliance’s management. 

The vessel transported nine inland waterway hulls from Nantong, China, to Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The hulls had a weight totalling about 11,800 tons and varied in length from 63 to 135 meters and in width from 11.45 to 22.8 meters.

The nine hulls were loaded using floating cranes and, to optimise cargo intake, were stacked atop each other. At their final destination, the hulls will be transformed into self-propelled inland waterway transport vessels by the client, RensenDriessen Shipbuilding.

They will play a crucial role in transporting dry freight, and containers, or serving as tankers through the inland waters of the Netherlands and neighbouring countries, highlighting our commitment to advancing sustainable transport solutions.

Innovation

Overcoming challenges was a key theme of this milestone shipment. While timing was crucial to avoid delays due to the Chinese New Year festivities, the Client’s engineering team brilliantly tackled the task of designing custom grillage, sea fastening, and stacking supports to secure the cargo as one unit, achieving a stackability of up to four tiers high.

Innovations in stowage were necessary to accommodate all units, including removing and repositioning MV Zhong Ren’s stern buoyancy tanks to free up deck space. Additionally, extra navigation lights had to be installed due to a cargo overhang of about 14 meters from the stern of the vessel. To ensure safety and prevent water accumulation inside the hulls during the sea voyage, drainage holes were installed.

Banking on deck carriers

In order to expand its offerings, SAL Heavy Lift chartered the two modern semi-submersible deck carriers Zhong Ren 121 and Zhong Ren 122 on a long-term basis from Shanghai Salvage Company (China). Both vessels are being marketed through the Jumbo SAL Alliance.

Both vessels are 169 metres long and 39.8 metres wide, featuring DP2 technology, 26,000 dwt and the ability to carry floating cargo due to semi-submersible mode.

Following delivery, SAL will have the opportunity to utilise the two vessels for cargo transports from Asia to Europe. Afterwards, they will be deployed for an offshore wind farm project in the USA.

Once the wind farm project has been completed, SAL intends to extend the charter contracts with Shanghai Salvage for an additional two to three years.