Eco-friendly ship design
The company commenced research for the development of totally new and aerodynamic hull shape design above the water line at the beginning of 2007. the goal was to reduce wind resistance and gain higher fuel efficiency, which means lower running costs for ship owners/operators and lower CO2 emission for the Earth.
The development was code-named "SSS bow" because it was aiming at giving a Semi Spherical Shaped bow to pure car carrier, that is usually squarely shaped and quite susceptible to wind pressure. Wind tunnel tests at Research Institute for Applied Mechanics of Kyushu University proved that its wind resistance is up to 50% less than that of conventional PCC design.
The head charterer of the series, Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co., Ltd. gave high marks to the design for her good performance in both economical and ecological aspects. The vessels are planned to be operated in Europe and North Sea areas by its subsidiary company, Euro Marine Carrier B.V. of Holland. We look forward to having their performance results in real conditions.
The first SSS bowed vessel is scheduled to be delivered in the end of this year, after keel laid in June, while her sister will be completed three months later.
