Danaos Shipping Co. Ltd is to upgrade propulsion systems and rebuild the bulbous bows on two of its container ships to enhance operational efficiency.
The 8,500 TEU CSCL Europe and CSCL America ships will be fitted with fixed pitch Kappel propellers, propeller boss caps with fins and EnginePower Limitation. While in dock the ships will also have their bulbous bows rebuilt to reduce fuel consumption and optimise speed by more than 15% compared to 2004. The upgrades will push Danaos’ competitiveness within the mid-size container ship market in terms of operational efficiency.
Both ships are powered by MAN B&W 12K98MC-C main engines rated at 68,520 kW at 104 RPM, and with the propulsion retrofits, top speeds of more than 23 knots will be attainable. Optimisation of propulsion systems is increasing as previously container ships were designed to operate at higher speeds than today and so the propulsion systems can be modified to correspond.
Prior to fitting, Danaos’ R&D department conducted thorough investigations to assess what upgrade solutions would be best suited to the ships. CFD simulations and model tank tests were carried out at the Krylov State Research Centre (KSRC), Russia, to establish the performance of using Kappel propellers and the new bulbous bow design. Furthermore the light running margin (LRM) could be correctly established, which can often be over-reduced and lead to the propulsion upgrade not being fully exploited as the engine’s specific fuel oil consumption (SFOC) can be impacted.
Ship Efficiency Review News
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