Improved 'green' bulk carrier

Classification society Lloyd’s Register and Shanghai-based Bestway Marine Engineering Design have completed their joint-industry project to develop a trend-setting environmental bulk carrier, with results far exceeding expectations, as LR states.
 
According to the provisional data from the project, the new design for a 35,000 Dwt bulk carrier is said to achieve an 18% improvement in environmental efficiency over comparable previous versions when measured against the IMO's Energy Efficiency Design Index, a method by which a ship's CO2 efficiency is measured.

The new 'Emerald' design exceeded targets in a number of key areas: it reduced the Handysize model's steel weight by 12%, making room for more revenue-generating cargo without increasing fuel consumption (the target was a 10% reduction); it also reduced fuel consumption by 19.5% (the target was 15%).

The project was started in 2009 to research the commercial, functional and design feasibility of developing environment-friendly, low-carbon, economical bulk carriers. Owners in Asia and in Europe are showing interest in the innovative vessel designs and Bestway is now applying the design criteria to a number of different sized bulk carriers.