The design for an LNG-powered container ship of the Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua (HZ) of 25,000 TEU could in reality yield a ship of 26,000 TEU. German analyst Jan Tiedemann of Alphaliner came to this conclusion after taking a closer look at the design.
The Chinese shipyard launched the, so far unnamed, design in December at the Marintec China trade fair in Shanghai. Hudong-Zhonghua, part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, had then just received the approval in principle for its blueprint from classification society DNV GL.
Solid Leap of Scale
The Chinese put a lot of emphasis on the ship’s LNG propulsion, but less on the fact that container shipping would once again make a substantial leap of scale with this. After all, where the length of the current generation of 22,000 TEU ships is limited to around four hundred metres, the HZ design jumps to 432 metres.
Its 63.3-metre width is another step in the ongoing trend towards economies of scale. It width is based on 25 containers next to each other, where the largest ships to date, including those under construction, can load a maximum of 24 eight feet wide containers. In the Chinese blueprint, 24 containers can be stacked on top of each other, twelve below deck and twelve on top. The vessel’s length allows for rows of 26 40ft containers, or 52 TEU in a row.
Not All Slots Used
Of course, not all those slots can be used. Due to the shape of the ship, there is less space for containers at the front and rear, and the (narrow) bridge and the separate funnel also require space.
The engine room and LNG tanks, which probably take up more space than traditional tanks for fuel oil and gas oil due to the necessary insulation and strict safety requirements, also take a substantial bite out of the number of container slots.
Ships May Actually Be Built
Tiedemann probably assumes that thanks to the larger dimensions, after deducting the necessary facilities, there will still be more room for containers than the 25,000 TEU specified by the Chinese. Incidentally, there seems to be a realistic chance that the ships will actually be built. The HD project is based on a request from shipping company Cosco Shipping, also in state hands.
However, analysts are increasingly questioning the point of building ever larger container ships. They point out that they only benefit from economies of scale if they are fully loaded, that is, have a very high load factor.
In addition, part of the advantage gained at sea is offset by higher costs on the land side, as loading and unloading of ever larger mastodons results in longer handling times and heavy peak loads at the terminals.
This article first appeared on Nieuwsblad Transport, a sister publication of SWZ|Maritime.
