Built by Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co. over a 4-year period, she began her maiden voyage on January 27, 2012.

Nichioh Maru, image courtesy NISSAN

Nichioh Maru’s green secret is its energy-saving, electronically-controlled diesel engine, with 281 solar panels fitted to the carrier’s deck, as well as a low-friction coating on its hull, for better hydrodynamic performance.

Compared to an existing car carrier of the same type, the operator claims this ship can achieve a fuel reduction of up to nearly 1,400 tons annually, which converts to an annual reduction of 4,200 tons of CO2 emissions.

These panels, and the LED lights they illuminate in the ship’s hold and crew quarters, are a first in Japan, says Tomohiko Uchiyama, president of Nitto Kaiun Corporation, Roro’s operator.

“As Nissan went to the effort to launch the Nissan LEAF at that time, in terms of the logistical flow, we thought there would be a way for us to contribute using state-of-the-art technologies,” said Uchiyama.

“This is the first domestic vessel to have photovoltaic panels. Together using LED lighting on this ship, we aim to create an energy-efficient carrier.

“And, especially, if we use solar panels, we can reduce CO2 emissions because we don’t need to use oil for operating the generator. Already with this aspect, I believe that we can say that the introduction of this ship is a success.”

With a capacity of up to 1,380 cars, Nichioh Maru will join two other carriers in daily service on a 1,800 km domestic roundtrip route from Oppama Wharf near Yokohama, to Kobe, and then to the southern island of Kyushu — making two roundtrips per week.

The ship’s captain, 38-year veteran Tamotsu Sato, is pleased to be at the eco-helm.

“Something that’s gentle to the environment — that’s the most important thing, considering the current system on the ship. And, of course, we also have the solar power system,” said Sato. “This carrier is important in many ways. In my opinion, as a captain, I have no doubt that this ship will be a front runner in this industry…And from here on out,  I plan to do my best to again boost my skill set to work with this new technology.”

Image courtesy NISSAN

The Nichioh Maru follows in the sustainability wake of the City of St. Petersburg eco-carrier, which Nissan began using in 2010 for international routes in Europe.

This makes the eco-ship a dream carrier, and with more carriers to follow, Nissan is positioned to stay leagues ahead in sustainable mobility.

Vessel Details:

• Length: 169.95 m
• Width: 26.00 m
• Total weight: 11,400 tons
• Load capacity: Completed vehicles: 880 units (without truck trailers: 1,380 units), with trailers: 115 units
• Operating speed: 21.2 knots

Wilh. Wilhelmsen group made maritime history with four of the world’s largest RoRo car carrier ships ever built. As a first of the series, launched earlier in 2011, the DNV class MV Tønsberg also represented a 150th anniversary vessel for the Norwegian RoRo specialist. The Mark V class vessel is the largest of its kind, with a length of 862 feet offering a cargo volume of 138 000 cubic metres over six fixed and three hoistable decks.

“This ship is the result of thirty years of evolution. The MV Toba, the first of the Mark Series, was delivered in 1978 and even before this Wilhelmsen was innovating in the RoRo sector,” said Captain Alex Maresca, Site Manager for Wilhelmsen Marine Consultants. He added that the scale, sophistication and energy efficiency embedded in these ships represents the culmination of the company’s expertise in deepsea roll-on roll-off transport.

Captain Maresca, Swiss by birth but fluent in Norwegian, recounts how a boyhood trip to Norway inspired him to go to sea.

Captain Maresca has supervision responsibility for all four of these vessels, which mark the pinnacle of a career with Wilhelmsen that started in 1966 as a deck boy on a good old-fashioned liner the Tugela. His first RoRo, the MV Toba was actually one of the Mark I series. The year he joined the MV Toba in 1980 also holds special importance for him because this was the year that his son was born. The reference point of the Mark I is a yardstick on how far Captain Maresca and his employer Wilhelmsen have evolved. The four Mark V ships will be deployed to the company’s round-the-world service of today, a 110–120 days roundtrip from Europe to US East Coast, Oceania, South East Asia, Far East, US West Coast, US East Coast and across the Atlantic back to Europe.

To serve this demanding trade lane with the ultimate in flexibility, efficiency and dependability, the Mark V class stands alone as one of the most sophisticated RoRo vessels ever built in terms of high ramp capacity, deck strength and height.

“The ships are of impressive capability, but remember that they are designed to complement a highly complex and synchronized landside supply chain operation,” said Captain Maresca.

Wilhelmsen has traditionally developed and built their new generation ships in Japan together with Mitsubishi Heavy, and in this case with the layout design from in-house naval architects Wilhelmsen Marine Consultants working in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy. One of the shipyard’s specific contributions, amongst many, was the push for a six-blade propeller rather than a five-blade one, a decision that made the ship essentially vibration free.

There is a long history behind this relationship of owner, yard and class. The strength of the mutual commitment goes from the board rooms of Wilhelmsen, Mitsubishi Heavy and DNV down to where the welding torch meets the steel.

“When you walk around the yard, you recognize the same faces. That is quite reassuring when you are building a vessel of such precision and strength,” said Captain Maresca, noting that there is no room for compromise on the watertight ramp covers, alignment of decks and columns.

Captain Maresca has been involved in the supervision of ten PCTCs and the Mark V vessels, including contributing to some of the design features. Prior to the Mark V project, he was on site for the Mark II, Mark III and Mark IV in various capacities such as outfitting, painting and RoRo superintendent.

At the site in Nagasaki, Captain Maresca currently supervises six people, including the Secretary, Paint Inspector, Machinery Superintendent, Electrical Superintendent, Steel Superintendent and Site Manager. The machinery and electrical staff have many years experience in the RoRo trade. “Combined, we have more than 100 years of experience within the Wilh. Wilhelmsen company and most of this on RoRo vessels. Much of the credit for the good work, which has been done, has to go to these guys,” said Captain Maresca.

DNV has been working closely with Wilhelmsen in Oslo and in Japan, on many levels, with green and fuel-efficient strategies and concrete onboard solutions. This strategic top management level co-operation between Wilhelmsen and DNV was started a half a decade ago. One of the key issues was the determination of the performance goals for the Mark V. Some of the selected solutions to reach these ambitious goals were tested out on later ships in the Mark IV series.

“You really have to credit the Wilhelmsen Marine Consultants team, who have been involved in the design of the entire Mark series since the 1970s. We are really privileged to be on the receiving end of this design process, putting it into reality at the shipyard,” said Captain Maresca.

Four Mark V vessels will be delivered to Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and its partner Wallenius Lines. The second vessel will be delivered in August 2011 and the final two in 2012.

Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA experienced a strong rebound in its shipping operations last year, with a 25% increase in transported volumes in 2010 compared with 2009.

The entire cargo hold of the Mark V is arranged for customers’ high and heavy cargo such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and harvesters. With a width of 12 metres and a safe working load of 505 tonnes, the vessel’s stern ramp offers customers the possibility of shipping larger units than they ever could before. Main Deck 4 has an entrance clearance of 7.4 metres with 25 metres of width, which is also unprecedented for this kind of vessel.

By moving the bridge forward, cargo can even be loaded on the weather deck, which has ramp access from the deck below. Three decks can be hoisted by electric winches to provide maximum flexibility and utilisation.
An optimised hull form together with streamlined rudder design and duck tail will allow the Mark V to consume 15 to 20% less fuel per transported unit compared to predecessors. In the engine room, an advanced turbo generator produces electricity from the waste exhaust heat. In total, these initiatives help to cut emissions significantly.

A Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions (the former Unitor) water ballast treatment system avoids harmful transfer of microorganisms to the sea. Furthermore, all fuel oil tanks are protected to minimise the risk of leakage in case of grounding or collision.

The first of the Mark V series is the MV Tønsberg, with the red coloured hull designating its ownership by the Wilhelmsen fleet. The second of the Mark V series, which is also at the quayside in the Nagasaki dock, sports the Wallenius green.

MV Tønsberg is the fourth vessel with this name in the Wilhelmsen fleet, having been named after the coastal town in Norway where the company was founded in 1861. MV Tønsberg will commence service in the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics’ round-the-world trade.

Such demanding routing requires a robust optimum hull shape for balance of stability and low resistance. The other key design goals are efficient and safe cargo handling together with minimum environmental impact.

All hoistable decks – Decks 4B, 6 and 8 – are to be operated by electric winches with the absence of hydraulic systems resulting in zero oil leakage. Hoistable decks nos 6 and 8 are to be constructed with plywood top plating in a steel frame to save weight.

It is no surprise that with the above characteristics the ship is built to the standards of the yet-to-be-ratified Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009. DNV has reviewed and issued a “Statement of Compliance for Inventory of Hazardous Materials,” which is known by the industry shorthand of Green Passport and is essentially an inventory of all materials potentially hazardous to human health or the environment, used in the construction of a ship.

The Turbo Generator system is estimated to cut the total fuel annual consumption by about 5–6%, while CO2, SOx and emissions of particles (PM) will fall proportionally and NOx emissions by about 3%. All fuel oil tanks shall be protected against grounding and collision. Potential leakage from hydraulic cylinders for some of the heavy ramps (which don’t use all electric) shall be collected in drip trays as far as is possible.

“This ship is as close to handcrafted as you can be in the modern shipbuilding era. The features of such ships require nothing less than the closest partnerships with the shipyard and class. The results are proof of the commitment of all parties,” concluded Captain Maresca.

Originally published by Matthew Flynn for DNV’s Special Ships publication.

Related Video

Click here to view the embedded video.

A test article ship-to-ship vehicle transfer system from Cargotec is on its way to the US Navy; the test article uses MacGregor-based technology and can transfer US Marine Corps vehicles and personnel from a large medium-speed RO/RO to a mobile landing platform in sea state 3

As part of a development project Cargotec is delivering a test article ship-to-ship vehicle transfer system to the US Navy using MacGregor-based technology. The test article vehicle transfer system (TAVTS) has been built as part of the US Navy’s ‘Sea Base’ plan to support Army and Marine Corps land forces.

The two primary components of the transfer system are a self-deploying ramp that will be mounted to the float-on/float-off ship, Mighty Servant 3, and a self-deploying sideport platform system fitted to the large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) (LMSR) ship, USNS Soderman.

Installation of the ramp system on Mighty Servant 3 will simulate the basic configuration envisioned for the future mobile landing platform (MLP). The surrogate MLP will be fitted with a dynamic positioning (DP) system that will allow it to hold a specified position and orientation alongside the LMSR while underway, within a defined tolerance.

The TAVTS will be used by the US Navy to demonstrate vehicle transfer between the surrogate MLP and the LMSR. The ramp is power-operated for deployment and retrieval and is controllable by one person. In case of failure, the system is able to safely continue to support vertical and horizontal design loads and allow emergency ship separation with a vehicle – up to a weight of 72,575kg (160,000 lb) – anywhere along the length of the ramp.

Prior to its recent delivery, Cargotec finalised rigorous harbour test procedures on the system, which will now undergo full-scale testing by the US Navy’s PEO Ships/PMS 385.

The test objectives are to demonstrate:
• the MLP’s ability to maintain station alongside the LMSR in sea state 3
• the test article ramp’s ability to deploy to and operate with its new LMSR sideport platform in sea state 3
• the transfer of US Marine Corps vehicles and personnel via test article ramp from the LMSR to the MLP and back again in sea state 3.

All test procedures are performed using the ‘crawl, walk, run’ method, which is a graduated approach. Testing will start with alongside/at anchor demonstrations moving to open water/low sea state conditions and finishing with open water/increasing sea states. Operations specialists have conducted site surveys in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate suitable test locations.

TAVTS-ramp at “safe distance mode”

TAVTS-ramp approaching the platform

TAVTS-ramp during operation

The Trans Sea Lifter, or TSL, is a uniquely innovative barge carrying system for short sea shipping that, according to their website, can execute 5 to 7 times the number of round trip voyages per year than a conventional feeder vessel of similar slot capacity.

The vessel is a SWATH type, or Small-Waterplane-Area Twin-Hull, catamaran.  The hulls are very slender at the water surface, thus offering a steady ride through waves and allowing the TSL to sustain its speed through rough head seas.  The TSL uses a patented ballast-system that enables a quick change in draft to provide the TSL with fully autonomous offshore cargo handing capabilities.  Drafts range from:

• Voyage Draft – 12 m
• Loading Draft – 20 m
• Traversing Draft – 7.5 m

The system components are:

• TSL Vessel: Innovative 1.800 TEU Flo/Flo vessel
• Barges: Detachable cargo holds of any size and type
• Flo/Flo Operation: Fixed cycle time of 90 Minutes
• Service: Ferry-like schedule outside port entrance/river mouth

Unique to the TSL is its ability for quick pick up and drop off any size barges. By simply floating them on and off (Flo/Flo) submerged platforms the TSL can perform a full load turn around in just 90 minutes. The competitive advantage of the TSL system is that it breaks the conventional wisdom around the time management of vessel operations, because lay time for port operations is off the TSL schedule’s critical path.

This video depicts the TSL Flo/Flo process, which can be executed practically anywhere within 90 minutes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more on the Trans Sea Lifter, visit their website HERE

Completed in late 2008, the M/V Auriga Leader is the world’s first cargo ship to be partially propelled by solar power.   The 656-foot, 60,000-ton car carrier will initially transport vehicles being sent for sale overseas by Japan’s top automaker, Toyota Motor Corp, and harness the energy of the sun in order to reduce fuel costs and cut carbon emissions.

Currenlty docked at the Port of Long Beach, officials from the port, Toyota and NYK Line are allowing visitors to come aboard and view the 328 solar panels on the M/V Auriga Leader as part of a demonstration project to help raise awareness about reducing diesel emissions from large ships.

The vessel, developed by Nippon Yusen K.K. and Nippon Oil Corp., is capable of generating 10% of the energy used while the ship is docked with its 328 solar panels on the top deck.  Nippon Yusen has set a goal of halving its fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by 2010.

The panels themselves are not attached to the ship directly, but are rather installed on the ship’s car-carrier, which is capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles, and then connected to the onboard 440 volt electrical network.

The companies hope having the panels on the carrier will protect them from the stresses of the ship’s environment, including salt-water damage, wind pressure, and vibrations.

Rueters gives us the details on this catastrophic fire aboard the Ro-Ro Und Adriyatik:

06 Feb 2008 – ZAGREB, Croatia

A burning Turkish cargo ship with 1,000 tonnes of crude oil aboard was drifting towards Croatia’s Adriatic coast on Wednesday, threatening to pollute tourist beaches.
Firefighters, including Dutch experts in fighting ship fires, were trying to extinguish the blaze which broke out aboard the ship close to Croatian territorial waters early on Wednesday, officials said.
All 22 crew members and passengers had been rescued by a passing Greek ship and taken to Venice in Italy.
“The situation is dangerous but it’s under control at the moment,” Croatian Sea and Transport Minister Bozidar Kalmeta said before heading to the region. ” Continue Reading…

The ship during better days:

Photo By francesco de crescenzo

Related Links:

• Photo Slideshow
• Incident Video

Video of the damage:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Video of the air drop:

Click here to view the embedded video.

This “Qoute of the Week” comes from Fred Fry of Maritime Monday fame.

If you want to solve the problem of car traffic, just subject car drivers to a tenth of the training requirements thrust upon seafarers.

The quote was in reference to our story on the sinking of the ro-ro Don Pedro off the coast off ibiza and Maritime Links Editor’s Blog notes on the resulting oil pollution. Both excellent articles IMO (chat shortcut for “In My Opinion” not the regulatory body).

As our recent poll question “What is the most important issue facing mariners today?” shows excessive training is the most important issue to gCaptain readers behind the criminalization of the mariner. Read the discussion of the poll topics HERE.