MAJOR COMMITMENT TO CARIB TRADE

The investment encompasses four 1,145 TEU geared containerships forming the Carib class, and two 300 TEU lo-lo/ro-ro feeders designated the Mini Express type, plus containers, chassis and other equipment.

Construction of all six vessels was awarded to China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) entity Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard, which delivered the Mini Express duo, Tropic Freedom and Tropic Gem, in August and December 2018, respectively. Two of the Carib quartet, the Tropic Hope and Tropic Island, were handed over in November and December, and completion of the third and fourth of the 1,145 TEU newbuilds is expected within the 2019 first-half.

Tropical Shipping has operated services from Canada and Florida to the Caribbean and Bahamas for more than 50 years, and deploys a mixed fleet of lo-lo and lo-lo/ro-ro tonnage on its international and intra-regional network. It claims to be the largest containerised cargo carrier in the Caribbean region. Since 2014, the company has been part of the Seattle-headquartered Saltchuk transport, shipping and logistics group, which includes TOTE Maritime.

Tropic Hope and Tropic Island have superseded chartered tonnage on the route linking Halifax (Nova Scotia) and Palm Beach with San Juan (Puerto Rico), the Virgin Islands and eastern Caribbean. The Mini Express pair, Tropic Freedom and Tropic Gem, have replaced two smaller, Night-class vessels on Palm Beach, Marsh Harbour (Bahamas), Turks and Caicos Islands, and Dominican Republic itineraries maintained under Tropical’s Cargo Express Services banner.

The Carib-class Tropic Hope, based on a design developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI), is similar in main features and configuration to the 973 TEU Tropic Carib type commissioned in 2001, but with advances in technology, efficiency and revenue-earning capability. The new generation is arranged with four holds and offers a 1,145 TEU payload through a combination of underdeck and above-deck slots.

The importance of temperature-controlled cargo in the Caribbean freight mix is denoted by the provision of a total 270 reefer points. The vessel can also cater to the 45ft, 49ft and ‘high-cube’ units used in the US trades. To ensure cargo handling self-sufficiency, especially relevant to lightly-equipped, smaller ports in the Caribbean region, the cargo section is plumbed by two 45t deck cranes, mounted on the port side.

The Tropic Freedom sisters are of deckcarrier type and are of shallow, 4.1m fully-laden draught to ensure access to many of the region’s smaller berths and island harbours. The bridge-surmounted superstructure is positioned forward, and cargo can be handled by lo-lo means using the ship’s two cranes on the port side bulwark, or by ro-ro mode over the stern ramp. Electrical sockets cater for up to 66 reefer boxes within the 300 TEU cargo intake. A slightly higher capacity ship in the same mould, the Tropic Express, joined the fleet in 2011.

Tropical Shipping nominated MAN propulsion machinery for all the new tonnage. Each of the Tropic Hope series has been specified with a six-cylinder S60ME-C8.5 two-stroke diesel delivering 14,280kW at 105 rpm, complete with TCA66-21 turbocharger and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) module to achieve IMO Tier III NOx compliance. The installation was supplied from the Shanghai works of MAN licensee Hudong Heavy Machinery, and provides for a service speed of 20 knots to ensure the integrity of the shipowner’s liner-type schedule.

The MAN ‘package’ also embraces the latest generation of controllable pitch propeller, the five-bladed VBS1550-5 Mk5, plus the auxiliary outfit, comprising three 6L23/30 Holeby gensets incorporating TCR turbos. Each diesel genset is rated at 1,248kVA/998kW, supplying current at 60Hz. Brunvoll bow and stern thrusters minimise the need for tug assistance and bestow the requisite manoeuvrability at island harbours.

For the deckcarriers Tropic Freedom and Tropic Gem, propulsive power is engendered in each case by two 8L27/38 Tier II engines producing a total 5,440kW and driving twin screws, giving a speed of 12.5 knots.

COMPAC seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearings were ordered for both series through Canadian specialist Thordon Bearings’ Jacksonville-located distributor Coppedge Marine. The COMPAC polymer bearings solution obviates the risk of stern-tube related oil leakage and meets US Vessel General Permit (VGP) stipulations relating to pollution from oil-to-sea interfaces.

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS—Tropical Shipping newbuilds