2010 Sep 06

Cargotec serves flexible and environmentally-friendly solutions

Cargotec’s range of advanced load-handling solutions offer efficient, flexible and environmentally-friendly operating technology; taking advantage of this is Grieg Shipping’s new series of open-hatch carriers.

MacGregor VFD electric crane series inherits the best characteristics of proven designs, but also combines improved operability with low environmental

Over the past few years Cargotec has heavily focused its technology development on environmentally-conscious solutions that still offer shipowners cost-effective, reliable, and efficient equipment. As part of this process, the company offers totally-enclosed conveying systems and has made significant advances with its electric-drive portfolio. This includes the refinement and creation of new products that employ electric drive technology as a key part of their operating systems.

Cargotec can offer electrically-driven RoRo cargo access equipment; variable frequency drive (VFD) electric cranes; MacRack, which is a new drive system that combines drive and lift operations for side-rolling hatch covers; MacPiler, which is an innovative gantry crane that can hoist, carry and stack lift-away hatch cover panels (two at a time) both on the weatherdeck and tweendeck; active heave-compensated (AHC) winches (both umbilical and wire) that set new standards for performance, noise levels, reliability and power consumption when used for remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) and deepsea load handling; and dry bulk cargo handling equipment.

Innovative arrangements
Soon to take advantage of this technology is Norwegian operator Grieg Shipping, which owns, manages, markets and operates 26 open-hatch general cargo vessels – one of the world’s largest open-hatch fleets.

The company has recently opted for an innovative arrangement of centre-line located electrically-operated slewing MacGregor cranes and hydraulically-operated hatch covers, with some electric drive functions, for its new series of six 48,700 dwt open-hatch general cargo ships (plus 2+2 optional vessels). The ships will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea.

Ari Viitanen, Cargotec’s sales director for dry cargo ships, says that: “This project is a remarkable milestone of concept work, completed with seamless co-operation within Cargotec. The design was created in close co-operation with the owner, as well as with good co-operation between Cargotec’s cranes and dry cargo business lines. The result is a completely new integrated cargo handling equipment arrangement for Grieg.

For its new vessels, Grieg wanted to have a series of ships with slewing cranes so that it can also transport a wider range of project cargoes and at the same time meet the production efficiency that is expected for forest products. Therefore, the company has specified a total of 24 MacGregor variable frequency drive (VFD) electric cranes and a combination of MacGregor folding, pivoting and piggy-back hatch covers, which also have electrically-operated wheel units.

Proven crane characteristics
For each of the new vessels Cargotec is supplying four VFD electrically-driven cranes (type GLE7526/MLC/6030-2). Each crane has an SWL of 75-tonnes at a 26m outreach. The cranes are planned for delivery from 2012 until 2013. “The MacGregor electric crane series inherits the best characteristics of proven designs, but also combines improved operability with a low environmental impact,” says Per-Erik Nilsson sales and marketing director for Cargotec cranes.

“Its development was in two stages: the first was a new technique for powering all motions of the shipboard cranes. The second was the environmental step change we have made, in line with the international focus for future shipbuilding.

“Transport needs are changing and Grieg is taking a step towards more efficient and flexible ships by opting for MacGregor electric VFD cranes. In tandem operation it will be possible to carry project cargo weighing about twice the gantry crane’s SWL and longer cargo lengths. The VFD crane is also an environmentally better solution compared with the traditional hydraulic slewing cranes or gantry cranes due to the efficient use of energy during the whole operation cycle. Efficient production and competitive prices also adds to the fact that this is believed to be a very good investment for shipowners in this segment”.

Flexible hatch cover arrangements
The high-stowing folding-type and small pivoting MacGregor hatch covers are operated by external hydraulic cylinders, while the piggy-back/stacking-type covers are both hydraulically and electrically-driven. The hatch covers are manually cleated and weathertight.

The electric drive units for the piggy-back/stacking-type hatch covers consist of an electric motor with brake and gearbox, which are provided for each of the four wheels of a rolling cover. The speed of panel movement is controlled by a joystick-operated frequency converter.

Hatch covers of adjacent holds are operation wise paired having common wheel rails. The lifting covers are raised by external hydraulic cylinders and the rolling covers are driven beneath the lifted covers by the electric drive units. Then the lifting cover is lowered on top of the rolling cover. Both covers can be moved horizontally above either of the two adjacent holds. Two covers are further divided into a lifting and rolling panel so that those can be operated within hold forward and aft.

Collaboration, co-operation and through-life support

“We work closely together with our customers, which enables us to introduce innovations that improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of their operations,” highlights Mr Nilsson. “Different Cargotec offices work closely together to combine our expertise and win these new orders. With this type of collaboration, we can serve our customers from ‘birth to scrap’; this is what we mean by through-life support”.

All deliveries are supported by worldwide service and support that ensure the supply of spare parts and repair services to a planned schedule, on demand, or in an emergency. The company also has an innovative service concept called MacGregor Onboard Care, which has been further developed to offer customers greater flexibility when selecting their planned maintenance products.

Electric-drive crane option ensures environmental savings

The environmental savings offered by VFD cranes are mainly attributable to three important factors:
• faster and more accurate hook positioning during loading and unloading, reducing
the loading cycle by up to 20 per cent and therefore decreasing time spent in port
• 30–35 per cent lower power consumption, which in turn results in
• lower energy (bunker oil) consumption.

These three important factors together result in a lower carbon footprint that each ship equipped with these cranes may use in their environmental rating.

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