FSG in flexible shape


With 16 ro-ro ships on order of various description, Germany’s Flensburger Schifau-Gesellschaſt mbH & Co continues to reap the reward of its specialised approach.


T


he latest ship to leave the Flensburger yard, in March, saw the delivery of Cuneyt Solakoglu, the 13th of 14


ro-ro ships built for Turkish owner U.N. RO-RO. Te 193.30m, 26.0m wide ship features a


draught of 6.45m, and 3735m lane metres of freight capacity, equivalent to 255 x 13.6m long trailers.


Powered by two 8400kW main engines,


and with a crew of 23, the 11,636dwt vessel can achieve speeds of 21.5knots. As well as the final freight ro-ro vessel


for U.N. RO-RO, FSG also has six con-ro vessels on order for Cobelfret, four ro-ro freight-ferries for Seatruck Ferries Ltd., United Kingdom, three ro-ro freight- ferries for Ulusoy Sealines, Turkey, and


two so-called ‘ro-flex’ vessels for Rettig Group Ltd subsidiary Bore, of Finland. Tese last ships are worthy of separate attention, given that they have been specially designed to attract a range of charterers. Initially, both ships will be chartered to Mann Lines for a period of five years, which owner also holds an option for a five year extension. Perhaps their most distinguishing feature is


the the 7.4m height of the main deck, allowing free height for double stacked containers. With the car decks in use, there is still enough space below them for conventional ro-ro cargo or trailers. NA


Cuneyt Solakoglu, the 13th of 14 ro-ro ships built for Turkish owner U.N. RO-RO, leaves the Flensburger yard.


Interferry hot on GHG


Ferry industry association Interferry has expressed itself dissatisfied with the way the proposed ‘energy efficiency design index’ (EEDI) for new ships shaped up at March’s International Maritime Organization Greenhouse Gas Working Group.


I


nterferry chief executive, Len Roueche, found March’s supposedly pivotal working group meeting on


greenhouse gasses at IMO headquarters something of a let down. “I was not very happy with the outcome of the GHG working group. Rational debate took second place to raw politics,” he said. “The big UN conference on climate


change takes place in Copenhagen in December. Te purpose is to write the next ‘Kyoto Protocol’. Te EU is very keen to widen the scope to include shipping. Te main topic at the working group at IMO was the so-called EEDI (see pp24-25). Basically it is CO2


emitted divided by


tonne-miles of cargo. However, the The Naval Architect April 2009


formula now is incredibly complex with all kinds of adjustments. Te idea is that this would become mandatory for all new ships to ensure that they are energy efficient. Tere are huge problems with it especially for ‘specialist’ ships like ferries, cruiseships and anything with unusual propulsion like diesel electric. “Te EU strategy is to push it hard and


ignore any calls for exemptions or delays. Te EU didn’t actually speak, however. It was Denmark that took the lead. “Interferry together with CLIA (the


cruise line industry association), CESA, (Council for European Shipbuilding Associations), and ICS (International Chamber of Shipping), argued for more


time to try to improve the formula so that it would actually work for ferries, etc. We had a little bit of support from Sweden and Germany but we were stymied at every turn by Denmark and the rest of the EU. “All we got was four weeks to prepare


further submissions to MEPC59 in July. Te only problem is that the submission deadline is only three weeks away.” In a briefing paper sent to the IMO,


Interferry said the suggested calculation methodology – based on a ship’s capacity - did not take account of power arrangements and trading patterns relevant to ro-pax and passenger ferry operations, and set out a sector-specific alternative. NA


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Feature 4


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