On March 30, 2020, CIMC Raffles officially began the construction of the first ship of the world’s largest 5,800-meter lane dual-fuel ro-ro ship 2 + 2 project for the Swedish shipping giant Wallenius SOL. Also starting on the same day was the construction of a Y-Type semi-submersible transport ship built by CIMC Raffles for SEVENSTAR, a subsidiary of SPLIETHOFF GROUP.
It is reported that the dual-fuel ro-ro ship 2 + 2 project officially commenced on April 18, 2019. It is the largest dual-fuel ro-ro and ice-class ro-ro in the world, and the first international order taken by CIMC Raffles in the field of ro-ro ship. The concept design comes from the well-known Danish design company Knud E. Hansen. The ship is classified by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and flying the Swedish national flag. It is 241.7 meters long and 35.20 meters wide, with 5,800 meters of lanes and a speed of 20 knots (about 37 km/h). The ship is equipped with two 685 cubic C-type LNG storage tanks to meet the hygiene and environment-friendly requirements. This series of ro-ro ships needs to meet the Finland-Sweden 1A Super ice class and antifreeze requirements. After delivery, they will operate in European waters and can operate normally in harsh seas where the ice is more than one meter thick. The first ship will be delivered in the third quarter of 2021.
“The project started on schedule to consolidate CIMC Raffles’ development foundation in the international mainstream market of high-end ro-ro ships. This is another stage breakthrough for CIMC Raffles to enter the high-end ro-ro ships, ro-ro passenger ships and other fields,” CIMC Raffles’ Executive Vice President Tao Ni said.
The Y-Type semisubmersible transport ship, which commenced construction on the same day, has a design length of 213.7 meters, a molded breadth of 46 meters and a design draft depth of 4.6 meters, suitable for loading, unloading and transportation. It can efficiently load and unload yachts, inland river cruise ships and other floating cargo and is classified by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.
According to Yantai Yin, Assistant General Manager of CIMC Raffles Longkou Base, since the project agreement was concluded last year, with the support of Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and the owners, the Longkou Base has cooperated with R&D and purchasing departments to make full preparation before production and optimize the project design and construction process in order to deliver a high-quality project. This can effectively improve the construction efficiency and quality of the project.
“The team in charge of this project has extensive experience and powerful strength. We hope that all departments can bring into play CIMC’s craftsman spirits of persistent improving and striving for excellence to strengthen the project management, optimize the construction process and achieve unity and collaboration, so as to deliver the project on time and on budget.”
Source: CIMC Raffles