German-based Reederei NSB has reported the completion of the first ship widening project in the world, which is responsible for adding an additional 20% of container capacity to its MSC Geneva vessel. The company employed the China-based yard of Huaran Dadong for the process of widening the ship, thus increasing its capacity by 1,440 TEU (from 4,860 TEU to 6,300 TEU) over the course of four months. NSB commented that other lines and various investors should also look into the innovative extension, as it could provide two to four more container rows.
“Neglecting the converting process for ships of current fleets, we still have to point out that purchasing a used vessel and conducting a widening procedure costs less than ordering a new one,” NSB commented.
Panamaxes delivered after the year 2005 are suitable to be widened according to NSB.
The company intends on offering its thorough expertise of the matter to others and has already reportedly received a large number of enquiries.
NSB has said that the widening process contributes for the significant increase of both transverse stability and load-carrying capacity. It is also noted that vessel converting instead of scrapping will cause less damage to the environment than constructing a whole new ship.
NSB is currently employing the services of the above-mentioned yard for widening another two of its ships – MSC Carouge and Buxhai.
Source & Photos: Reederei NSB