Chinese Serial Production Of Dutch Design

The 90m mini-bulker encapsulates the 5200XL type developed by Groot Ship Design of the Netherlands. An initial tranche of contracts entailing 14 examples for German shipowners was awarded to Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry, with commercial negotiations led by Hamburg broker Toepfer Transport.

Sommen and five more of the newbuilds were booked by Jebsen Shipping Partners of Jork, seven of the ships were ordered by Lubeca Marine in Lubeck, while Roerd Braren of Kollmar will take on one of the series. The Groot offering was subsequently extended to include 5,900dwt, 6,600dwt and 7,300dwt versions, and the entire XL portfolio currently accounts for a total 20 newbuilds. The Dutch firm has a dedicated website where prospective clients can configure and customise XL vessels to their specific requirements.

Relative to a deadweight carrying capacity of some 5,000t, the design offers a particularly high underdeck cargo volume of 270,000ft³ in a single hold extending for nearly 62m of the 88m length between perpendiculars. Subdivision is possible through the fitting of four portable tweendeck pontoon sections, which can also be used as two grain bulkheads, while cargo scope is further enhanced by provision for the vessel to sail in open-top mode.

NAABSA (‘not always afloat, but safely aground’) certification affords added trading flexibility in serving ‘drying’ ports and berths, while Ice 1A accreditation through DNV allows for year-round working in Baltic environs.

Sommen is powered by an MaK M25E diesel rated at 2,100kW, providing for a service speed of 10.5 knots. Launched in 2014, the engine model is a derivative of the M25C, and combines proven Caterpillar Group proprietary elements such as Flexible Camshaft, Waste Gate Technology , and Cylinder Bypass Valve, while also supporting selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for NOx abatement. The M25E has a high torque-to-speed ratio, allowing a controllable pitch propeller to be run at a reduced shaft speed. The driveline in the new vessel employs a Reintjes reduction gearbox, and the Berg CPP is mounted within a nozzle, for thrust effect maximisation.

Given the popularity of the compact, 250mm-bore medium-speed family among European short-sea specialists, Caterpillar’s decision to terminate all MaK engine production by the end of last year has opened up more possibilities for competing marques. The Caterpillar representation in the Sommen, meanwhile, also extends to the auxiliaries, in the shape of two Perkins gensets. Manoeuvring is facilitated by a 300kW electric bow thruster of the Veth-Jet pump jet type, supplied by Veth Propulsion.

Subsequent to Sommen, XL5200 deliveries to date from the Jiangsu Dajin yard at Yangzhou, on the Yangtze River near Nanjing, have comprised the second of the Jebsen newbuilds, the JSP Falster, and two under the Lubeca contract, named Aero and Als. The design is the result of a joint R&D cooperation initiated between Groot and Toepfer Transport in 2018.

MAIN PARTICULARS – Sommen