Order booked for Danish ro-con design

CMN (Compagnie Maritime Nantaise) and Knud E. Hansen have worked closely together over the past year to develop the ro-con design. A number of design options were studied taking into due consideration the operational requirements,and physical constraints in the proposed operating areas including size limitations, limitations of port facilities, etc.

The ships are 160m length oa, with beam of 27m and maximum draught of 7.2m. Capacity is 903TEU of containers, with 2,800 lane metres for ro-ro freight. The design allows for loading of wheeled cargo on the main deck via a stern and a quarter ramp. The layout has been optimised to ensure a steady cargo flow to and from all decks even when using the quarter ramp. Provision has been made at the design stage to enable controlled shifting of cargo between the decks at sea. In addition, the internal ramps to the upper deck have been optimised in order to limit any irregular or unusable space. This has been essential in order to achieve the specified cargo uptake within the maximum main dimensions.

The flush deck hatches on the weather deck to enable loading and unloading of containers directly onto the main deck, independent of the ramps, is claimed to be a unique feature of these vessels. In addition to the cargo, facilities are provided for 12 passengers. The ships will operate at a service speed of 20 knots.