On 10 June Stena threw a party in Gdynia, Poland, for more than 120 guests marking the delivery and naming of the first revolutionary design, the Stena C-MAX. Stena Teknik, the in-house newbuilding department of the Stena Group, has developed the design. It is a spin-off from the V-MAX concept with shallow draft, excellent manouverability and enhanced operation safety.
Two vessels on time charters to ChevronTexaco
The first two vessels have been signed on to a long term time-charter contract with ChevronTexaco Eastern Caribbean Ltd (CTECL), a Barbados based subsidiary of ChevronTexaco. CTECL is one of the largest players in petroleum products in the Caribbean region. In addition to carrying petroleum products the vessel is designed with two LPG tanks on deck to further enable flexible and profitable trading.
Dimensions and performance of the vessels
Deadweight at scantling draft: 10,000 tons at 6.5 meters (21.3 feet)
Length: 120 meters
Beam: 23.8 meters
Engine-power: 5,200 kWe
Cargo capacity products: 12,625 m3
LPG capacity: 2x640 m3
Number of Segregation’s: 17
Pumps: Deepwell
Stena designed newbuildings: the safest tankers on the seas
The two vessels on order differ from other product tankers so far built in the world in that they have – in addition to double hulls – diesel electric propulsion, with 4 main engines supplying two independent azimuth thrusters. The thrusters can rotate 360 degrees. This configuration gives the vessels substantial advantages since one or more engines can be shut down for maintenance while the vessel continues its voyage with the remaining engines in operation. But above all, all these functions represent an extra safety factor and provide the vessel with manoeuvrability in combination with a bow thruster far superior other existing and designed tankers.
Economically efficient vessels
Double azimuth thrusters and an optimised hull design have made it possible to build wider vessels than has so far been the case. Stena Bulks newly ordered vessels will have a beam of 23.8 metres compared with the normal 17-19 metres for tankers of similar draft.
The major economic gain for ChevronTexaco and CTECL lies in the extreme shallow draft of the vessels that will make it possible to transport large cargoes into ports where draft is restricted. The majority of the CTECL stations are located close to ports with draught restrictions that limit the cargo volume for conventional ships. The more cargo a ship can carry, the lower the transport cost per barrel and the higher its saving potential for its user.
Stena Calypso
The second vessel, to be named Stena Calypso, will be delivered during the second half of September and the naming ceremony is planned for Gothenburg on 3 October.