Marine Log - May 2008 - (Page 41)

SHIPPING Congestion relief: The third set of locks will allow ships up to 160 ft wide to pass through the Panama Canal ROOMTO orts in the Eastern United States, Canada and the Caribbean are gearing up for some big changes starting in 2014. That’s the anticipated date when the third set of locks at the Panama Canal will be completed, allowing new ultra-large containerships to sail directly from Asia to the U.S. East Coast. The dimensions of these new monster boxships, dubbed New Panamax or NPX ships, will be determined by a number of factors, according to a study conducted by Lloyd’s Register and Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd. Last October, David Tozer, business manager, Container Ships, Lloyd’s Register, and Andrew Penfold, director, www.marinelog.com P Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd. (OSC), made a presentation based on the study at Boxship 2007 in Hamburg, Germany. According to Lloyd’s Register and OSC, the NPX vessel length will be determined by: • The dimensions of the new locks • The method of entering and laving the locks • The length of container berths in the major ports • Access considerations for ports on identified trades Among the conclusions of the report is that the NPX will initially be an estimated 366m long by 49m wide (1,200 ft x 160 ft), with the possibility of an “Enhanced NPX” of as much as 380m. Current Panamax vessels are GROW 294.3m long by 32.3m wide (965 ft x 106 ft). The size of the ships are defined by the size of the locks. The current locks are 305m long by 33.5m wide (1,000 ft x 110 ft). The expanded locks will be 427m long by 55m wide (1,400 ft x 180 ft). There is no lack of 400m berths either at ports in Asia or the East Coast of North America, says the study. The port market has anticipated the introduction of ultra-large containerships and NPX vessels and has the large container gantry cranes with 22-box wide outreaches. The study says that while initial NPX ships will have 19box wide, there is no reason that Enhanced NPX ships could not have a 20-box wide. The Panama Canal Authority has set guidelines at 19-box wide (49m beam). The study believes that maneuverability worries have probably been overstated and says that fendering technology can cope with wider vessels at berths. It concludes that a 6m margin between the lock and the vessel is excessive. The depths of the new locks will easily accommodate vessels drafting more than 15m. There has been heavy investment in deepwater ports on the North American East Coast. Three ports can or will soon be able to accommodate vessels with more than 15m drafts. These are Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the Port of New York and New Jersey and Hampton Roads, Va. By MAY 2008 MARINE LOG 41 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - May 2008

Marine Log - May 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Europe Plots Its Tech Strategy SDNV Container Ship Update Diesels Can Burn Anything: Even Clean Fuel Boost for Small Shipyards Gateway to the Caribbean Room to Grow Show Review Tech News Newsmakers Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Maritime Salvage Letters

Marine Log - May 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.