Novel approach to vehicle transport
The 'Constantia', a bulk carrier designed to transport Volkswagen cars
Recent retrospective looks at The Motor Ship of 50 years ago have tended to concentrate on the development of large-bore diesel engines, and the December 1961 issue is no exception.
The magazine reported on the first large-bore Sulzer-engined tanker, the 48,000dwt Toko Maru, built by IHI in Japan with an 18,000bhp 9RD90 engine, and a 16,525bhp De-Schelde built engine of the same type, the first large-bore engine built in The Netherlands.
However, the report that caught our eye was a 17,200dwt bulk carrier, the Constantia, built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, for owner Ahrenkiel and chartered to automobile manufacturer Volkswagenwerk.
The ship’s notable feature was that it was fitted with hoistable decks, developed by B&V and mentioned previously in this review. It seems incredible nowadays when there are so many PCTC-type ro-ro vessels in worldwide service that vehicle transport was still in its infancy, and, moreover, that it was very much a one-way traffic, in this case between Europe and North America. Volkswagen’s answer was to carry its export vehicles across the Atlantic in the westerly direction, and return eastward to Germany with a cargo of grain, ore or coal.
Two very different cargoes presented a ballasting challenge, which was met by providing ballast equivalent to up to 31% of total deadweight. The ship was designed around the dimensions of the Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ car – 1,180 of them – and the portable decks to carry the vehicles. The deck arrangement allowed the cars to be stowed on three levels of hoistable deck as well as on the bottom of the hold. The decks were suspended on cables, and could be winched up and stowed to either side of the hatch openings when bulk cargo was to be carried.
Unlike present-day PCTC vessels, there were no ro-ro arrangements, each vehicle having to be craned aboard and loaded via the hatches. Three pairs of derrick posts, with a total of 12 derricks, were provided for loading and unloading. A Blohm & Voss- MAN K8Z 70/120 engine, developing 7,250bhp at 130rpm, provided main propulsion, with four MAN 230kW auxiliaries.
Finally, there was news of the Gotaverken yard in Arendal, Sweden, which was progressing well with completion scheduled for Spring 1963. The yard was notable for it’s ‘conveyor belt’ style layout, with two drydocks extending into the erecting shops, which was designed around modular shipbuilding methods. Each ship section would be built on a cradle, allowing it to be moved by hydraulic jacks so that the next section could be worked on. It was anticipated that a 40,000ton tanker could be built in around 20 weeks. Even before completion the yard had attracted five orders.
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