This innovative vessel combines a completely new de-sign with environmentally sustainable aspects. Let’s have a look on design work and find out what makes this new type of vessel special.
M/V Monika is the first of four vessels which is financed by OVB in Leer. In summary there will be eight ships of this type. The ABN Amro in Groningen will finance the other four vessels.
Regarding the selection of a suitable shipyard the choice was between one in the Netherlands, one in Vietnam, seven in China and one in Bangladesh. After visiting these ship-yards and shortlisting two Chinese ones, it was decided to take Zhejiang Zengzhou Shipbuilding in China, where con-struction works started in 2017.
All negotiations concerning building contract were done by Briese Schiffahrt, mainly by Mr. Jan de Looff, and in strong cooperation with Frank Dreyer and his team as well as Ahl-ers & Vogel consultancy. The contract was signed on the 15th of December 2015. Commissioning was controlled by one of our team members.
A new generation of multipurpose vessel captures the sea - the Open Top ECO 5000 (OTECO).
The design of the OTECO vessels went through three stages.
In the first stage the design team made decisions of ship’s design and dimensions as well as stability calculations and selecting of parts like main engine, generator or bridge equipment. In regards of classification it is important to con-sider the provisions of the classification societies while pre designing. In case of M/V Monika Bureau Veritas was chosen as classification society.
The second stage mainly consisted of tests in special weather conditions. Because of the ability to sail with open cargo hold, the engineering team had to conduct an open top model test to control the water intrusion during ex-treme bad weather conditions. Additionally they conducted a speed model test to check reaching of 10.5 knots at eco speed and an ice test to make sure that engine power is suf-ficient for ice class 1A.
In the last stage of construction work the engineers opti-mized little remarks which occurred while test procedure and calculated the aft ship with Computational Fluid Dy-namics (CFD) so that the aft ship with nozzle and rubber was optimized.
On the 15th of January 2018, at the end of construction work, the sea trial was performed. It started at 10 o’clock in the morning with general performance test of vessel, includ-ing vessel’s speed, crash top and maneuverability tests. Dur-ing the further procedure the engineer team tested main engine, steering gear, propeller system and generators as well as function of anchoring equipment and heating sys-tem. Moreover they conducted tests of firefighting and navi-gation equipment. Tests of dead ship restart, black out and insulation plus ballast water management treatment plant and other engine room equipment were found in good
working condition as well as all the other conducted tests.
On the part of Briese Schiffahrt Nikolay Zhelonkin partici-pated in the sea trial and the participants of Briese Holland had been Jan de Looff and Vyacheslav Babiychuk. During the test M/V Monika reached 13.92 knots at 100% engine load.
After one day at sea, on the 16th of January, the sea trial end-ed successfully and on the 18th of January M/V Monika was shifted into dry dock for completion of jobs concerning hull and final underwater painting. Little remarks which occurred during test procedures were optimized.
M/V Monika was designed by Groot Ship Design with param-eters from Briese Chartering. The design of the ship’s shape especially the bow is focused on the improvement of the ship’s sailing in bad weather conditions. The main advan-tages of ‘Groot Cross-Bow’ are less main engine power and lower emissions, less resistance of water and higher sailing speed also in semi bad weather.
To optimize the hydro resistance of aft ship, rudder, propel-ler and nozzle the construction engineers used Computa-tional Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This computer aided program depicts the water flow on the hull and impetus parts which is important for a smooth sailing with less resistance of wa-ter. In addition CFD calculations from Schottel helped to de-sign the rudder.
The main advantage of the new design is the longer deck, which offers more space for accommodating project cargo as well as general cargo up to 5000 dwt. The bridge in front enables the crew to have a better sight and to carry over-
hanging cargo. The ‘pontoon type’ hatch covers are designed by Coops & Nieborg and can be lifted with own gantry crane.
Cargoes can be loaded in open top or closed configuration depending on stability and intake. Because of the newly de-veloped ‘Groot Cross-Bow’ without bulbous bow the ship has more buoyancy and less immersion.
Moreover the main components are produced by German and Dutch companies. On basis of good experience with MaK en-gines, gearbox and CPP made by Reintjes and Schottel, Briese decided to choose these companies for this type of vessel.
The equipment on bridge is delivered by Radio Holland.
Furthermore Eekels designed the electrical system like switchboard, shaft generator, alarm system and bow thrust-er drive and delivered it in collaboration with partner com-pany SaierNice. Air conditioning and sanitary systems are plugged by de Haan. Generator and steering gear are made by Sandfirden while ballast water treatment system is pro-duced by Headway.
Considering ecological aspects M/V Monika has a lower fuel consumption due to the improved bow shape as well as an efficient use of light because of LED lights and movement sensors to reduce unnecessary power consumption. The boiler and heat recovering system made by Heatmaster en-ables to recover heat from main engine and auxiliary sets, so boiler is in standby function. The ballast water manage-ment system treats the water without chemicals but with Ultrasound which is better for environment and uses less energy. These ecological improvements comply with the Green Passport EU by Bureau Veritas.
The finished vessel was launched on airbags. Her maiden voyage took 12,500 miles, starting in shipyard of Zhoushan and ending in Hamburg, where the christening ceremony took place. On her voyage M/V Monika loaded hubs and turbine houses for wind energy converters in Tianjin as well as rotor blades under and on deck in Dafeng. Addi-tional stops were conducted in Singapore, Galle, Jeddah, Suez and Ceuta. Finally she discharged her cargo in Rouen
and made her way to Hamburg. Vestas, one of our biggest clients, chartered the new vessel for transport of these constructions. The average speed during her first voyage was 10.5 knots.
M/V Monika is the first vessel and made the first step in a new generation of vessel. She might be a role model for the next newbuildings.