Conoship ? flying the flag for Dutch shipbuilders
01 Mar 2004
New designs reaffirm the Netherlands? strong position in short-sea shipping
Traditionally, the Dutch have always been strong in the short-sea shipping market and this still holds true today, as evidenced by the continuous stream of new designs emanating from the various yards and design houses. One such source is Groningen-based Conoship International, a marketing, sales and design/engineering firm acting on behalf of four Dutch shipyards who are the joint shareholders of Conoship.
In addition to the four member yards, Conoship also works with a number of other shipbuilders, most of which are located in the northern part of Holland, all of which have established a well-earned reputation for complex specialised ships, multi-purpose small cargo vessels and tankers. This niche market is important for the Dutch shipbuilding industry and, by constantly developing new designs, it has managed to remain in the forefront.
The strength of Conoship is best expressed in the preliminary activities, such as locating market demand, advice, design, financing and market research, product development and maintaining contacts with an extensive network of regulatory bodies and financial authorities.
Another important activity is that of matching the customer with the shipyard that can best carry out the order, both in terms of quality and delivery.
The four yards ? Barkmeijer Stroobos, Bijlsma, Bodewes Shipyard, and Royal Niestern Sander ? are endowed with state-of-the-art equipment, enabling them to offer customised vessels as well as serial production. The wide range of designs includes the Conofeeder small container feeder vessels ranging in size from 200 to 750 TEU, gas tankers, oil tankers and chemical/product carriers, and a wide variety of multi-purpose general cargo ships.
Contracted out
Over the last four to five years, Dutch shipbuilders generally have increasingly contracted out the construction of hulls to overseas yards where labour costs are lower, particularly Poland, Romania and the Ukraine. This move has enabled yards to dramatically increase their productivity which, in the case of Bodewes, enabled an increase from four ships in 2002 to ten this year.
Final outfitting of the new vessels is subsequently completed at the respective Dutch shipyard and generally involves fitting out of the accommodation and the installation of navigation and engine room control systems.
Speaking to The Motor Ship, Philippe Swolfs, general manager of Conoship, said that, provided a high level of supervision was maintained, the quality and delivery of the hulls is of a generally good standard.
One of the exceptions to this rule of outsourcing hull construction is Barkmeijer, which specialises in small dredgers and builds complete ships at its yard in Stroobos.
Good examples of coastal ship types emanating from the Conoship member yards are the container feeder ships such as those built by the Volharding Group for the Dutch owner J R Shipping. These 9,500dwt container feeder ships have a 750 TEU capacity and their hulls are built at Daewoo Mangalia in Romania and towed to Holland for completion and outfitting.
Bodewes Shipyard also delivered last year the Almadiep, the first of a new 89.98m long, 15.2m wide Trader 4300 Series dry cargo vessel. The yard secured orders for a total of seven of these 4,300 dwt multi-purpose ships for delivery during 2003 and this year and the hulls are being built in Romania, Poland, or in Ukraine. Outfitting and superstructure work is, however, still being carried out in Holland.
Another very popular ship type is the small multi-purpose general cargo vessel as represented by the series of five new ice-classed 3,400 dwt units which are specifically designed for use in the Saimaa canal and the Finnish lake network.
Once again, the Bodewes Shipyard is involved with the building of these 82.5 metre long by 12.5 metre wide ships, which have a limited draught of 4.35 metres for transiting the canal and have a service speed of 12.5 knots. The Marine Products yard in Poland is constructing the hulls, while the fitting out is being done at Hoogezand and the lead-ship was completed in November, last year, with the other four being delivered at three monthly intervals.
Ice strength
A new design has been completed for Bijlsma Shipyard and Royal Niestern Sander. This new ice strengthened 5,800 dwt MPC vessel was developed with a German owner who has ordered three units. The vessels will be built in Poland and outfitted in Holland.
Each newbuilding will have two cargo holds with a clear opening of 37.53 x 11.7 metres. The hold is to be fitted with two movable grain bulkheads, which can be slotted in four different positions using the hatch cover crane for this purpose.
That the Conoship member yards continue to rely on traditional niche markets is evidenced by the current order backlog of over 50 multipurpose cargo ships at shipyards in northern Holland.
At the time of writing, Conoship member Bijlsma will soon be delivering the Kyoto, the world's first bi-fuel LNG tanker to Norwegian owner Knutsen OAS Shipping for short-sea trade on the Norwegian coast. As the world?s smallest ocean-going LNG carrier at 1,100 cubic metres, this 68.80 metre long and 11.8 metre wide 1,500 gt vessel uses the boil-off gas from its cargo to power the dual fuel diesel-electric propulsion plant.
The installation will also permit switchover to diesel oil, as back-up. The 14 knot ship is a double hull vessel designed as a 2 G type gas tanker, and is propelled by two azimuth thrusters, controlled by an electric motor of 900kW, and one bow thruster.
The Kyoto was specifically designed by Bijlsma to address environmental concerns in transporting gas along the Norwegian coast. It will deliver LNG to destinations within two days of transit time of the Naturgass Vest Kollsnes Maeringspark LNG plant near Bergen.
Multi-purpose
Another active player in the small-ship domain is Scheepswerf Peters, which builds keenly-priced, multipurpose cargo vessels. Among the yard?s most recent deliveries is the 5,000 dwt Cathy Jo ordered by Corrib Shipping. This 95.3 metre long vessel is based on the Polar Combi Porter (PCP) 5000 design, offering a hold capacity of just over 215,000 ft3 and full deadweight at a maximum draught of 5.71 metres.
The box-like nature of the hold enables efficient cargo handling and stowage across the range of bulk commodities and general cargoes while also allowing an intake of 120TEU containers, with capacity for a further 56TEU on deck. Trading flexibility has been enhanced by ice-strengthening to 1B standards. A compact Wärtsilä 6 L 26A diesel with an output of 1,950kW, gives a service speed of around 11.5 knots.
While Conoship member yards are currently concentrating on building the smaller type of multi-purpose dry cargo vessel as their core activity, they are successful in other market sectors such as feeder vessels, small tankers, dredgers and specialised tonnage. However, competition is tough with Turkey being successful in the small tanker market and China making inroads in both the tanker and the multi-purpose dry cargo vessel
sectors.
New markets
Conoship is therefore looking at new markets and ship types in order to maintain its lead and is taking the process further by looking closely at innovative designs and high-tech vessel types offering extra added-value to its members.
Current investigations and development work, for instance, embrace high-speed transport and an innovative design of a multi-hull inter-city mini-cruiser with accommodation for around 150 passengers.
In addition, what is described as a revolutionary new design of a fast Ro-Ro cargo vessel is under preparation. Ro-pax, trailer, and container versions of this design, on which patents are pending, will be produced, and a completely new company may be set up in northern Holland to market and build this vessel type.
Development work in the high-speed and other fields have entailed extensive collaboration with the Faculty of Maritime Technologies at the Technical University of Delft, MARIN in Wageningen and other European technical research institutions.
There is no doubt that the ability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, to be innovative and to maintain a technological lead over low-cost shipbuilding nations is the key to survival for the Dutch shipbuilders. n
Traditionally, the Dutch have always been strong in the short-sea shipping market and this still holds true today, as evidenced by the continuous stream of new designs emanating from the various yards and design houses. One such source is Groningen-based Conoship International, a marketing, sales and design/engineering firm acting on behalf of four Dutch shipyards who are the joint shareholders of Conoship.
In addition to the four member yards, Conoship also works with a number of other shipbuilders, most of which are located in the northern part of Holland, all of which have established a well-earned reputation for complex specialised ships, multi-purpose small cargo vessels and tankers. This niche market is important for the Dutch shipbuilding industry and, by constantly developing new designs, it has managed to remain in the forefront.
The strength of Conoship is best expressed in the preliminary activities, such as locating market demand, advice, design, financing and market research, product development and maintaining contacts with an extensive network of regulatory bodies and financial authorities.
Another important activity is that of matching the customer with the shipyard that can best carry out the order, both in terms of quality and delivery.
The four yards ? Barkmeijer Stroobos, Bijlsma, Bodewes Shipyard, and Royal Niestern Sander ? are endowed with state-of-the-art equipment, enabling them to offer customised vessels as well as serial production. The wide range of designs includes the Conofeeder small container feeder vessels ranging in size from 200 to 750 TEU, gas tankers, oil tankers and chemical/product carriers, and a wide variety of multi-purpose general cargo ships.
Contracted out
Over the last four to five years, Dutch shipbuilders generally have increasingly contracted out the construction of hulls to overseas yards where labour costs are lower, particularly Poland, Romania and the Ukraine. This move has enabled yards to dramatically increase their productivity which, in the case of Bodewes, enabled an increase from four ships in 2002 to ten this year.
Final outfitting of the new vessels is subsequently completed at the respective Dutch shipyard and generally involves fitting out of the accommodation and the installation of navigation and engine room control systems.
Speaking to The Motor Ship, Philippe Swolfs, general manager of Conoship, said that, provided a high level of supervision was maintained, the quality and delivery of the hulls is of a generally good standard.
One of the exceptions to this rule of outsourcing hull construction is Barkmeijer, which specialises in small dredgers and builds complete ships at its yard in Stroobos.
Good examples of coastal ship types emanating from the Conoship member yards are the container feeder ships such as those built by the Volharding Group for the Dutch owner J R Shipping. These 9,500dwt container feeder ships have a 750 TEU capacity and their hulls are built at Daewoo Mangalia in Romania and towed to Holland for completion and outfitting.
Bodewes Shipyard also delivered last year the Almadiep, the first of a new 89.98m long, 15.2m wide Trader 4300 Series dry cargo vessel. The yard secured orders for a total of seven of these 4,300 dwt multi-purpose ships for delivery during 2003 and this year and the hulls are being built in Romania, Poland, or in Ukraine. Outfitting and superstructure work is, however, still being carried out in Holland.
Another very popular ship type is the small multi-purpose general cargo vessel as represented by the series of five new ice-classed 3,400 dwt units which are specifically designed for use in the Saimaa canal and the Finnish lake network.
Once again, the Bodewes Shipyard is involved with the building of these 82.5 metre long by 12.5 metre wide ships, which have a limited draught of 4.35 metres for transiting the canal and have a service speed of 12.5 knots. The Marine Products yard in Poland is constructing the hulls, while the fitting out is being done at Hoogezand and the lead-ship was completed in November, last year, with the other four being delivered at three monthly intervals.
Ice strength
A new design has been completed for Bijlsma Shipyard and Royal Niestern Sander. This new ice strengthened 5,800 dwt MPC vessel was developed with a German owner who has ordered three units. The vessels will be built in Poland and outfitted in Holland.
Each newbuilding will have two cargo holds with a clear opening of 37.53 x 11.7 metres. The hold is to be fitted with two movable grain bulkheads, which can be slotted in four different positions using the hatch cover crane for this purpose.
That the Conoship member yards continue to rely on traditional niche markets is evidenced by the current order backlog of over 50 multipurpose cargo ships at shipyards in northern Holland.
At the time of writing, Conoship member Bijlsma will soon be delivering the Kyoto, the world's first bi-fuel LNG tanker to Norwegian owner Knutsen OAS Shipping for short-sea trade on the Norwegian coast. As the world?s smallest ocean-going LNG carrier at 1,100 cubic metres, this 68.80 metre long and 11.8 metre wide 1,500 gt vessel uses the boil-off gas from its cargo to power the dual fuel diesel-electric propulsion plant.
The installation will also permit switchover to diesel oil, as back-up. The 14 knot ship is a double hull vessel designed as a 2 G type gas tanker, and is propelled by two azimuth thrusters, controlled by an electric motor of 900kW, and one bow thruster.
The Kyoto was specifically designed by Bijlsma to address environmental concerns in transporting gas along the Norwegian coast. It will deliver LNG to destinations within two days of transit time of the Naturgass Vest Kollsnes Maeringspark LNG plant near Bergen.
Multi-purpose
Another active player in the small-ship domain is Scheepswerf Peters, which builds keenly-priced, multipurpose cargo vessels. Among the yard?s most recent deliveries is the 5,000 dwt Cathy Jo ordered by Corrib Shipping. This 95.3 metre long vessel is based on the Polar Combi Porter (PCP) 5000 design, offering a hold capacity of just over 215,000 ft3 and full deadweight at a maximum draught of 5.71 metres.
The box-like nature of the hold enables efficient cargo handling and stowage across the range of bulk commodities and general cargoes while also allowing an intake of 120TEU containers, with capacity for a further 56TEU on deck. Trading flexibility has been enhanced by ice-strengthening to 1B standards. A compact Wärtsilä 6 L 26A diesel with an output of 1,950kW, gives a service speed of around 11.5 knots.
While Conoship member yards are currently concentrating on building the smaller type of multi-purpose dry cargo vessel as their core activity, they are successful in other market sectors such as feeder vessels, small tankers, dredgers and specialised tonnage. However, competition is tough with Turkey being successful in the small tanker market and China making inroads in both the tanker and the multi-purpose dry cargo vessel
sectors.
New markets
Conoship is therefore looking at new markets and ship types in order to maintain its lead and is taking the process further by looking closely at innovative designs and high-tech vessel types offering extra added-value to its members.
Current investigations and development work, for instance, embrace high-speed transport and an innovative design of a multi-hull inter-city mini-cruiser with accommodation for around 150 passengers.
In addition, what is described as a revolutionary new design of a fast Ro-Ro cargo vessel is under preparation. Ro-pax, trailer, and container versions of this design, on which patents are pending, will be produced, and a completely new company may be set up in northern Holland to market and build this vessel type.
Development work in the high-speed and other fields have entailed extensive collaboration with the Faculty of Maritime Technologies at the Technical University of Delft, MARIN in Wageningen and other European technical research institutions.
There is no doubt that the ability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, to be innovative and to maintain a technological lead over low-cost shipbuilding nations is the key to survival for the Dutch shipbuilders. n
