Oshima Launches New General Cargo Ship Design

The design has eight box-shaped cargo holds with full-width hatch openings. It is intended for a wide range of project cargoes, packaged goods, major and minor bulk cargoes, such as the carriage of packaged lumber, wooden pulp, coils, ingots, grain, ore, coal, containers (on deck), etc.

The new design features a high cubic and deadweight capacity at a shallow draught, enabled by an increased breadth without compromising performance. This allows the ship to enter a large number of ports.

One of the design’s most prominent features is the use of tween decks to maximizes the vessel concept’s space utilization. Jointly developed by Oshima, DNV GL, CompOcean and IKNOW Machinery, the tween decks are made of composite material, which also makes them 50 percent lighter than steel versions, without sacrificing any of the functionality, service or safety.

Tween decks can be fitted in holds 2, 3, 6 and 7 for segregation of different cargoes and improved hold utilization. Hatch covers are of piggyback type, except holds Nos. 1 and 8 which are of folding type. The long holds have two panels.

The design can also be fitted with composite hatch covers, which offer similar advantages to tween decks. In 2011, composite hatch covers were first developed and introduced by Oshima and DNV for the Oshima ECO-Ship 2020 concept design. A similar design for a panamax bulk carrier was awarded an AiP from DNV in 2013, followed by Panama flag approval for fire safety in 2013.

For increased loading flexibility, the concept design has two long cargo holds dedicated to longer or voluminous project cargoes.

In addition, the design boasts battery assisted crane operations, a propulsion arrangement with a PTO/PTI shaft generator and the possibility to select different fuel and technology options to meet current and future emissions regulations. The baseline design is equipped with a MAN Tier III main engine and Tier III auxiliary engines in a traditional configuration running on LSFO.

“We believe this new ship design delivers an excellent combination of characteristics to meet the varying requirements of the open-hatch general cargo segment. Several new technologies for general cargo carriers have been implemented, such as composite tween decks, a PTO/PTI shaft generator and batteries. This results in a design that offers shorter port handling times, reduced maintenance costs and a simple, cost-effective manufacturing process,” says Sho Minami, CEO of Oshima Shipbuilding Co.

Vessel specifications:

Length: 210m
Breadth: 35m
Max draught: 13.1m
Deadweight: 65,000mt
Cubic capacity: 77,000m3