An Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate was presented to Hyundai Heavy Industries CO., LTD (HHI) by the Classification society DNV GL at the Nor-Shipping exhibition in Oslo. The certificate confirms that the concept complies with the DNV GL rules for the classification of vessels and came as a result of development, conducted by HHI in close cooperation with DNV GL.
At a ceremony at the DNV GL booth, HHI’s Senior Executive Vice President & COO of Shipbuilding Division, Yoon Moon-kyoon, was presented with the certificate by Tor E. Svensen, the Maritime CEO of DNV GL.
Тhe SkyBench concept is an innovative design developed to increase the cargo capacity of large container ships. It was first demonstrated in Hamburg at the SMM trade fair in 2014. The upper three decks and the bridge of a “twin island” design container would be constructed as a separate sliding block. The constructions will be mounted on rails, able to move over the length of two 40-feet container bays.
Some improvements to the traditional design have been made, such as resizing and relocation of fuel tanks and the utilization of the void spaces beneath the accommodation block. This will allow the presence of two additional 20-feet container bays. After the improvements the cargo growth is expected to be as follows: 270 TEUs on a 17-row wide 10,000 TEUs ship, 450 TEUs on a 23-row wide 19,000 TEUs ship and 350 TEUs on a 20-row wide 14,000 TEUs vessel.
Yoon Moon-kyoon, the HHI’s Senior Executive Vice President said:
“We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to DNV GL for the approval of our SkyBench concept design. As we have been doing over the past four decades, we will continue to provide competitive ships differentiated from others in terms of quality, reliability and technological capabilities to our valued clients. I believe that SkyBench, like many other previous technological breakthroughs we have shown to the world, will surely bring benefits to our customers.”
Tor E. Svensen, the DNV GL CEO further commented:
“This was an extremely interesting and exciting project and we are very pleased that HHI selected us to work with them to realize this concept. The SkyBench shows how the industry’s increased focus on efficiency and maximizing transport capacity has really sparked innovation in design and operation. Additionally, the potential of this design to offset reduced cargo capacity when choosing LNG as ship fuel means that HHI can offer a design tailored to meet stricter sulphur emission limits in the future.”
The new SkyBench mechanism uses four electric drive train units to move the block backwards from its normal position and the operation process takes only ten minutes. The accommodation block rests on the two 40ft side casings. They provide structural strength and hold lifeboats, provision cranes and utility rooms. In emergency situations, the sliding block is detachable and is designed to float independently of the ship.