Ecoships Showcases Flower-Inspired Bulker Design

Ecoships, the technical shipmanagement arm of Newport Shipping Group, has introduced a next generation bulk carrier design, developed to set the standard in ecologically compatible marine transportation.

Inspired by the low friction to water flow and self-cleaning properties of the lotus flower – a symbol of purity and beauty in Buddhist and Hindu philosophy – Ecoships’ Greenlotus 32, is a 32,500dwt geared, wide hatched, handy-size bulker, designed to meet existing and future CO2 (carbon dioxide) NOx (oxides of nitrogen) and SOx (oxides of sulphur) emissions regulations.

Captain Aykut Yilmaz, Newport Shipping’s General Manager, said: “From cost and energy efficiency perspectives, it makes a lot of sense for shipowners to reconsider their ageing Handies in favour of the Greenlotus 32.

The return on investment is very attractive due to its extremely low fuel consumption and it meets the most stringent emissions reduction requirements.”

The 170.90m long, 27m wide hull form, optimised for energy efficient operation using computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis, has a propulsion arrangement based around a de-rated, Tier III compliant MAN B&W SG50ME-B9 two-stroke main engine driving a large diameter, fixed pitch propeller.

“This configuration provides a heavy fuel oil consumption of just 15.6t/day at a service speed of 14 knots and 7.6 t/day at 11 knots. Compared to the daily fuel oil consumption of comparable Handy-size designs, the Greenlotus 32 can generate daily fuel savings of more than USD 6,500 on a bunker price of USD 650t, operating at 14 knots,” Yilmaz said.

Suitable for the carriage of a variety of cargoes, including coal, grain, ore, direct reduced iron, cement, bauxite and steel coil, across five double skin cargo holds, the ‘Eco-Smart’ design features wide, steel-covered hatches in conjunction with the absence of hoppers and lower bulkhead stools to facilitate optimal loading and discharging operations.

The vessel is equipped with four sets of deck cranes each with a 30t safe working load and 36m outreach. Each crane is supplied with a frequency converter system to ensure optimum energy efficiency.