High speed sea routes hasten EU transport

Some 18 months after announcing they were collaborating on a significant project, Rolls-Royce and Izar revealed at the SMM exhibition last month the nature of their plans in the shape of a new European high speed cargo vessel (EHSCV). Spurred by the European Union?s Marco Polo programme and its promise of subsidies, Spanish shipbuilder and designer Izar and UK-headquartered gas turbine manufacturer Rolls-Royce have developed a ship that meets the required improvement in environmental performance of Europe?s freight transport system.

Statistics show how the speed of road transport in Europe has deteriorated with the average speed of trucks dropping from 60 km/h 10 years ago to 41 km/h today and the situation is getting worse. As trucks sit in jams with their engines idling their environmental performance decreases. Add to this drivers? limited hours and the problems of road transport are exacerbated.

Subsidies, in the form of a 30% start-up aid over three years, are available for projects involving two or more member states. The monohull EHSCV is being offered as a short-sea shipping alternative to road transport between the UK, Spain and mainland northern Europe. The ship?s developers point to market research which shows that a high-speed pure roro vessel type is the most cost-effective solution for routes over 300 nautical miles. Input from ferry owners, shippers and port authorities has defined the design.

The resulting baseline 3,400 dwt design will be manned by a small crew of 15. This is achieved by the extensive use of remote control technology including monitoring the engine room performance by satellite. This move towards full automation is driven by a perceived lack of skilled engineers. Rolls-Royce aims to provide a complete through-life service back-up including repairs, maintenance and fuel consumption.

The design is arranged as a two-deck vessel of 1,700 lane metres with a capacity for 124 x 30t trailers or 105 trucks. Quick loading and discharging are crucial features in short-sea operations and the developers aim for the EHSCV to achieve a maximum turnaround time of three hours. Powered by two Rolls-Royce MT30 diesel-fuelled gas turbines driving two Rolls-Royce Kamewa size 250 waterjets, the roro will have a service speed of 37 knots and a range of 800nm. The vessel will have a length overall of 212m, a maximum breadth of 22m and a draught of 4.7m.

Aimed at shippers needing to get their products, such as fresh food, to market quickly, Izar is at pains to emphasise that the EHSCV is not in competition with the traditional medium speed roro vessels since these will continue to play an important part in the intra-European transportation system. The design is therefore pitched at the market sector sitting between fast ferries and roro ships although it could evolve into a fast ferry some time in the future. The preliminary idea for a pure roro vessel has been slightly modified to provide accommodation for up to 50 accompanied drivers to reflect the needs of small-scale hauliers operating in Europe.

Izar (formerly Bazan) has already demonstrated its capabilities of designing and building high-speed craft such as the 35+ knot Mestral class ferries, the 40+ knot Alhambra and the B60 catamaran with a speed of 57 knots. Unlike these aluminium vessels, the EHSCV will in all probability be constructed in high-tensile steel, which most ship owners are more familiar with. Depending on the size of vessel ordered, Izar will carry out construction at one of three yards: Puerto Real, Seville or San Fernando.