Gotland pace

Chinese shipyards don?t just build simple ships. Yes, they build a lot of bulk carriers and product tankers. But there is also a level of expertise at certain yards that allows them to build more sophisticated vessels. The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has earmarked certain yards for the development of the country?s shipbuilding base into the production of sophisticated ships. Vessels such as gas tankers, special purpose ships and ropax ferries. For development of the latter CSSC has decided to use Guangzhou Shipyard, about 200km from Hong Kong. In July last year, the shipbuilder launched the first of two fast ropax vessels ordered from the yard by Swedish owner Rederi Gotland. It is now set to launch the second later this month (January). The first ship is expected to enter service in the third quarter of the year. The second is expected to join it on the company?s Baltic Sea services between the Swedish mainland and the island of Gotland about four months later. Each of the ships is 28,600g and has a cargo deadweight of 4,700t. They are specified with a service speed of 28.5 knots, which among numerous other factors presents a significant challenge to the skills of the shipyard. Significant discount Bo Pettersson, technical director of Rederi Gotland, admits that price was a significant factor in the decision to build the ships in China. Each ship is costing Rederi Gotland SEK525 million (about $50 million). This compares to about $90 million for each of Superfast Ferries fast ropax ships built at HDW in Germany and about $75 million for each of Minoan Lines fast ropax ships built at Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea. However the contract price of a newbuilding doesn?t on its own dictate the choice of shipyard (although a discount, based on the above examples, of 45% compared to Europe and 33% compared to Korea is very hard to ignore). The owner has to have confidence that the shipyard can complete the project in such a way that the finished vessel meets some very high standard specifications ? both in terms of performance and outfit. Broad experience Pettersson says that while product tankers dominate the production of Guangzhou Shipyard it has the experience of building other vessel types, such as roros and heavy lift vessels for the commercial market and fast warships for the Chinese Navy. “[This experience] convinced me that approaching these guys with a new design, they would be able to alter their production to that kind of vessel,” he says. He agrees that the involvement of his staff has been greater than he would expect them to have at a yard with prior experience of building such a vessel. However he says it has been no more than he would expect at any inexperienced builder of ropax vessels, irrespective of where the yard happens to be located. A major issue, he says, that the yard has had to contend with is the lack of local supplies of certain materials. An example is the cabins, where supplies of IMO-approved fireproof panels and other critical materials have to be imported. The shipyard recognised the problem and was quick to employ the help of Danish Interior, a company that has carved out a considerable niche for itself in supplying Asian yards with turnkey interior solutions. Pettersson is convinced that in time the local supply network will establish itself in China. But until such a time happens, Chinese shipyards will have to buy in such materials from overseas. In Rederi Gotland?s case, it has used local supplies wherever possible and bought the rest in, mostly from Korea. Technical outfit The ships will achieve their 28.5 knot service speed through power supplied by four Wärtsilä 12V46C diesel engines geared to two Rolls-Royce Kamewa controllable pitch propellers. Total power produced by the main engines is 50,400kW. Three Wärtsilä 9L20 engines deliver auxiliary power of 4,380kW and two shaft generators produce a further 3,600kW. Manoeuvrability is enhanced through two high-lift rudders (with end plates) and two 1,700kW bow thrusters. All the engines, main and auxiliary, are fitted with catalytic exhaust gas cleaning. Pettersson says catalytic cleaning was chosen, “? to reach the lowest possible level of NOx emissions to the environment.” He says Rederi Gotland wanted NOx emissions below 2g/kWh, which isn?t attainable with alternative NOx reduction systems like direct water injection and the humid air motor. The installation of catalytic cleaning brings with it an additional capital investment at the outset of the ferries lives and an increase in running costs equal to about 5% of the fuel cost (through the need to replenish the urea reducing agent) according to Pettersson. But he adds that the cost is “nothing in terms of space”. All the engines are flexibly mounted in order to minimise vibration. Similarly the owner and Kamewa conducted an extensive testing programme in order to minimise pressure pulses from the propeller. Pettersson says that at the time of the tests, about a year ago: “We had the lowest ever pressure pulses known on this kind of propeller.” Pods were considered, according to Pettersson, to achieve the required manoeuvrability, but were soon ruled out. He points to the high power and speed of the ships and the lack of past installations in similar vessels. “I don?t dare to be the first,” he says airing worries about the potential cost of failures. Sea trials of the first vessel are expected to commence in February or March. Operating profile The ferries will connect Visby on Gotland to Nynäshamn (just south of Stockholm) and Oskarshamn on the Swedish mainland. The two services are combined so each ferry will do the 3hr 15min crossing to Nynäshamn followed by the 2hr 45min crossing to Oskarshamn. Rederi Gotland has set itself the target of a 45minute turnaround. In peak season this allows six crossings a day. In low season the schedule will change, but it will still involve crossing at high speed. Pettersson explains this is because passengers like to travel by day and freight customers by night, interests that Rederi Gotland has found difficult to combine with the two 19.5-20 knot ferries currently employed on the service. “By using high speed we are able to make a compromise between passenger demands and goods demands,” he says. Each of the ferries has 1,600 lane metres for goods traffic, compared to a combined 2,000 lane metres on the two ferries now in service. Pettersson says the increase reflects a dramatic increase in goods traffic on the service in the past five years. The 60% increase will mean Rederi Gotland won?t have to bring its 800 lane metre roro ship Gute onto the service in peak season, enabling it to earn money elsewhere. The car deck configuration allows up to 500 cars to park in the garage. The upper vehicle deck is designed to allow the retrofitting of a hoistable car deck should future demand require it. With the two new Chinese-built ferries in service, Rederi Gotland will seek alternative employment for the existing ferries on the service, Visby and Thjelvar. It will continue to utilise the capacity of the 35 knot high speed craft Gotland on the service. Watch out world Pettersson is sure that the successful delivery and continued operation of the Rederi Gotland ropax ferries will encourage other owners to look at building similar ships in China. Detractors of Chinese shipbuilding point to issues of working conditions and safety within certain Chinese shipyards. While such criticism is often valid and will put some off, owners prepared to overlook these issues could well be tempted by the apparent price advantage of the nation?s shipbuilders. This price advantage in itself exists in some critics eyes largely because of the level at which the Chinese Renminbi is pegged to the US dollar. But aside from this, the major downside as far as other owners looking at building similar ships in China are concerned, is the late delivery of the ferries ? Rederi Gotland had hoped to have the first ship in service for the 2002 peak season. Now it is likely to miss this. But Pettersson brushes the late delivery off as a consequence of the size of the project. “We have had a very good experience with the yard and they have been very cooperative to work with,” he says. Korean shipyards won?t like to hear it, nor will the Japanese. And the Europeans certainly won?t. But Chinese shipyards are becoming an ever more credible threat in all sectors of the shipbuilding market ? and not just those requiring relatively straightforward steel working skills.