Chinese-built ships have novel Dutch bow

This is one of several vessels with the Groot Cross-Bow which are currently under construction. The Groot Cross-Bow uses the ‘wave-piercing’ principle, which the designer, Groot Ship Design, says “cuts through the waves instead of riding onto the sea”. Compared with conventional bow designs with flare, a vessel with a Groot Cross-Bow is claimed to have a smoother ride with less pitching and less wasted energy and thus lower consumption of fuel oil. Another claimed advantage is better comfort for crew in heavy conditions and less risk of damaging the cargo in heavy seas or bad weather.

Groot Ship Design designed the bow, the hull lines and the configuration of propeller and nozzle in-house and in close cooperation with the owner Carisbrooke Shipping.

The 8,500dwt Super Green 8500 design was produced by Groot for the Dutch/British company Carisbrooke Shipping. It is a multi-purpose cargo ship, and as well as the innovative bow it features low-resistance hull lines and an energy-saving propeller and nozzle configuration. Carisbrooke has ordered for vessels from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, followed by a second order for a series of four more, similar but longer ships, the 10,000dwt Super Green 10000 design. The project is financially supported through the EFRO (European fund for regional development) fund of the European Committee with further assistance from the Dutch province Zuid-Holland (Subsidieregeling Clusterprojecten Zuid-Holland onder het OP Kansen voor West).

Both designs features not only the Groot Cross-Bow but also a high payload and flexible cargo intake in combination with a speed of over 12 knots. The fuel oil consumption is designed to be lower than other vessels of similar size. Carisbrooke expects a reduction in fuel consumption up to 30% compared to vessels of equal tonnage. The EEDI for the Super Green 8500 is calculated to be 9.72, thought to be better than most other designs, and well below the 2025 required index of 13.3.

The Super Green 8500 has a single cargo hold, is equipped with tweendecks panels and grain bulkheads allowing variations in the number of decks and compartments. The vessel is equipped with two cargo cranes of 80 tons each, and can be built to ice class 1A according Finnish / Swedish rules. A main engine output of 2,400 kW is feasible thanks to a large diameter propeller and high-efficiency nozzle. Model tests at HSVA at Hamburg proved the ice capabilities of the design. The Super Green is similar, but the longer length allows two cargo holds of larger capacity. Because of many similarities between the two designs, the owner and yard have been able to make significant cost savings.

Carisbrooke has a permanent site team at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, overseeing the construction together with classification society Germanischer Lloyd.