Rickmers-Linie contract Chinese shipbuilder
Rickmers-Linie is to take delivery of two 20,000dwt multi-purpose/heavy-lift newbuildings in 2015, to be built at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China, MarineLink reports.
Both of these multi-purpose vessels will be equipped with two 450-tonne cranes and one 120-tonne crane. The two main cranes will enable them to load up to 900 tonnes in a single lift.
Construction supervision and technical management will be the responsibility of Rickmers Shipmanagement while asset and commercial management will be undertaken by Rickmers Reederei. The ships will be delivered between January and March 2015.
According to Ulrich Ulrichs, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Rickmers-Linie, the new ships will be known in the Rickmers fleet as PX-900-type vessels: “While the design is based on the P1/P2 Type, the Rickmers Group is working with the yard to develop a more efficient design to reflect current market needs. Significantly improved technical specifications will lead to a substantial reduction in fuel consumption. The optimised hull form and a high efficiency propeller and rudder will enable the new ships to achieve an operating speed of 16.5 knots while using considerably less power and being optimised for slower speeds operating down to 10% MCR.
"We have not yet determined on which new routes these vessels will be placed. Bearing in mind that the current multi-purpose and heavy lift orderbook shows that deliveries from 2015 onwards are very few, we are confident that there will be strong market requirements for these excellent vessels.”
