Cutting edge container ship consortium

The consultancy led by Mohamed Zaitoun – a veteran of the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) who led the line’s project to design and build LNG-ready ultra-large container carriers – has brought together seven technology companies, several of which have expertise in LNG. However, Zaitoun told The Motorship that the fuelling of the future concept will not necessarily involve natural gas.

“It is more about the mindset of reducing risk in the industry than any one technical solution,” Zaitoun said. He added that the consortium was open to working with either existing ship owners or investors to bring the eventual design to fruition.

The consortium comprises two-stroke engine developer WinGD; cargo systems specialist MacGregor; equipment and systems provider Wärtsilä; containment systems company GTT; environmental solutions provider Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery & Marine Engineering; and project management and supply chain specialist Carina Solutions.

Stein Thorsager, sales director for merchant & gas carriers, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions, said “There is a pressing need to address inefficiencies and to improve business practices in the shipping industry. A major challenge is that the suboptimal choice and utilisation of onboard systems are hindering performance and hence, therefore, also profitability.”

“The industry has a lot of potential particularly stemming from underperforming systems and processes,” added Tommi Keskilohko, director, customer innovations, cargo handling, MacGregor. “For this project we can offer a great deal of experience stemming from our own commitment to increase the efficiency of cargo handling.”