PHOTOS: Symphony Shipping welcomes 1st Ecobox XL cargo ship

Dutch shipping company Symphony Shipping has taken delivery of its first Ecobox XL general cargo vessel from compatriot shipbuilder Ferus Smit Shipyard.

As informed, the ship Symphony Atlantic is the first in a series of two new Ecobox XL vessels the company ordered back in 2021. The launching ceremony for the vessel was held in November last year.

The cooperation between Symphony and Ferus Smit started in 2013 with the development and building of six Ecobox ships.

The first series comprised a 10.500 dwt geared cargo vessel with one single fully box-shaped hold. The ships have the open-top notation, with a deckhouse placed forward to give shelter to the hold and deck cargoes against severe weather conditions, and enable oversize deck cargoes to be loaded over the stern.

Later also a dynamic positioning version of the design was developed as ‘Ecobox DP’, of which two more ships were delivered to Symphony.

The new Ecobox XL design will have its focus on loading extra-long items, such as windmill blades, while at the same time still maintaining capabilities as a normal general cargo ship, according to the company.

Moreover, the original Ecobox design is lengthened by more than 21 meters, extending its box-shaped hold to more than 100 meters in length on the tank top, and 112 meters above the movable tweendeck level.

The new ships are 18 meters wide, enhancing their cargo deadweight further, and maintaining the flexibility of loading while keeping a very low resistance on both flat water and in waves, the company noted.

Fuel consumption is further reduced by integrating a novel ORC waste heat generator in the propulsion system.

Specifically, this system consists of a 3300 kW main engine driving a nozzled controllable pitch propeller running in fully automatic combinator mode. The fuel system will also be suitable for bio-blend fuels.

The modifications in design and systems of new ships are aimed to further enhance their green performance with a reduction of their Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) score to a new class reference standard.