A fruity car carrier

Great American Lines Inc (GALI), pioneer of the two-way traffic concept on its transpacific service between the US and Japan based on cars and citrus fruit, has, earlier this year, received delivery of a 60,587g vehicles and refrigerated goods carrier. Named Sunbelt Spirit, the design of this newbuilding is based largely on the first vessel of this type built back in 1978, the 30,610g Sunbelt Dixie, with many improvements based on the latest technological developments.

Built in Japan by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, this 212.08m long Panamax sized vessel is fitted with two ramps on the starboard side, one at the stern quarter and one amidships, for loading and discharging vehicles. Also on the starboard side are four sideports for loading and discharging palletised cargoes which can be either refrigerated or general cargo. The 13 cargo decks provide a total area of 54,112m2 and offer a stowage capacity for 6,190 vehicles while the refrigerated or frozen cargo space on decks 5, 6 and 7 has a capacity of 21,160m3 divided into eight insulated chambers.

The palletised cargoes are transferred from forklift trucks on the quayside to one of the vessel?s own forklift trucks onboard the ship or to one of the vessel?s trolley hoist/pallet cage systems located at the four sideport doors. The forklift truck transfer is confined to cargoes to be stowed on deck 5 while palletised cargoes for decks 6 and 7 are placed in the pallet cages of the trolley hoists. These pallets are then hoisted to deck 6 or 7 and stowed using the vessel?s own forklift trucks.

A single Sulzer 8RTA62U diesel engine with an output of 17,760kW powers a FP propeller giving a service speed of 21 knots. Manoeuvrability is enhanced with the installation of 1,500kW Nakashima bow thruster.

This US-based shipping company has a proven performance record providing ocean transportation for both automotive and refrigerated cargoes in opposite directions on the same vessel since it was established in 1978. It is one of the few ocean carriers to succeed and its original reefer/car carrier, Sunbelt Dixie, provided superior service carrying vehicles from Japan to the US and palletised citrus fruit from Florida to Japan.

This effective two-way trade provides a number of benefits to shippers which include regularity of service, stable freight rates, higher performance standards and the experience to deal with special requirements. The company has safely transported more than 23 million cases of citrus fruit and over 400,000 cars with an exceptionally low percentage of cargo damage on its transpacific route.

When the service was first conceived with Sunbelt Dixie, the US trade imbalance was relatively small but growing at an alarming rate.One of the largest segments in the growing imbalance was the automotive sector and, at that time, most Pure Car Carriers (PCC?s), carried cars to the USA, and returned in ballast. The combination of a very clean refrigerated cargo with shipments of new cars yielded clean cargo spaces in both directions thereby overcoming the problems associated with the carriage of cars and dirty bulk cargoes in car/bulkers. GALI has developed an efficient and cost competitive idea which it intends to keep a tight control over by virtue of an agreement with Sumitomo to build this ship type only for GALI.