Kyokuyo unveils eco-friendly car carrier

The shipbuilder commenced research for the development of its totally new and aerodynamic hull shape design above the water line at the beginning of 2007 with the aim of reducing wind resistance and gaining higher fuel efficiency. The cpmpany says that this means lower running costs for ship owners/operators and lower CO₂ emissions.

Kyokuyo’s design team code-named the project ‘SSS bow’ because of its semi spherical shaped bow which represents a radical departure from the usually aerodynamically inefficient square shaped bows of traditional car carriers. Wind tunnel tests carried out on the final prototype SSS bow at the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics of Kyushu University showed that its wind resistance is up to 50% less than that of conventional PCC design. In theory, the new bow shape can save about 800 tonnes of fuel oil and about 2,500 tonnes of CO₂ emission every year in average oceanographic weather conditions of the North Pacific at 75% MCR.

The two new vessels were ordered by Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co. Ltd. and are planned to be operated in Europe and the North Sea areas by its subsidiary company, Euro Marine Carrier of The Netherlands. The first SSS bow vessel is scheduled to be delivered at the end of this year and the second unit will be completed three months later.