A versatile pair of general cargo ships on order in China feature a comprehensive outfit of MacGREGOR hatch covers as well as the Group new heavy-lift deck cranes

Two 30,000 dwt general cargo ships ordered by the joint Polish/Chinese owner Chipolbrok are scheduled for delivery from Shanghai Shipyard in August and November next year with another pair optioned. The ships are specified with high-stowing folding-type covers for the five weatherdeck hatches:

• No 1 hatch cover will comprise 2+1 panels arranged fore and aft on the centreline and yielding a clear opening 18.96m long x 19.18m/12.95m wide
• No 2 cover will comprise 2+2 panels port and starboard, each set giving a clear opening 25.28m x 10.5m
• Nos 3 and 4 covers will also be 2+2 panel sets port and starboard, each offering clear openings 31.6m x 10.5m
• No 5 cover (2+0 panels port and starboard) will provide clear openings 12.64m x 11.45m.

Container stack loadings of 50 tonnes/20ft units and 65 tonnes/40ft units will be handled by No 1 cover, while Nos 2-5 covers are designed to accept 70 tonnes/20ft and 85 tonnes/40ft. Opening/closing of the covers will be executed by external hydraulic cylinders located at the hinge arms at the transversal end coaming. The covers will be supported by MacGREGOR Flexipad bearing pads.

MacGREGOR hatch cover outfit for the tweendecks will incorporate both high-stowing folding-type sets and lift-away sets. The Foldtite sets, operated by external hydraulic cylinders, will serve the upper and lower levels in Nos 1 and 5 holds, with either 4+4 or 4+2 panel configurations. Clear openings ranging from 12.64m long x 10.15m wide to 18.96m x 16.06m/8.93m will be provided. The covers will be designed to accept a uniformly distributed load of 4 tonnes/m2 (payload) and container stack loadings of 35 tonnes/20ft units and 45 tonnes/40ft units.

Operated by the ship cranes, the lift-away cover sets serving Nos 2, 3 and 4 tweendeck hatches will in total comprise 112 panels, each measuring 3.12m long x 10.4m wide and arranged over two levels.

No 2 set (16+16 panels, port and starboard) will offer a clear opening 25.28m long x 10.5m wide; and Nos 3 and 4 sets (each 20+20 panels, port and starboard) will provide openings 31.6m x 10.5m. The lift-away covers are designed with similar load ratings to those of the Foldtite tweendeck covers.

Heavy-lift crane debut

High cargo handling efficiency will be delivered by a MacGREGOR outfit embracing two 320-tonnes capacity GLH cranes and two 50-tonnes capacity GL cranes (one forward and one aft).

The Chipolbrok project marks a debut for the GLH crane, which in this application will have a 35m-long jib for use in container handling, with a 40-tonnes capacity at the maximum outreach. The new GLH range is available with SWL capacities from 100 tonnes to 350 tonnes (see also press release dated March 4, 2002).

Partner plant production

Shipbuilders in Europe and South Korea as well as Chinese yards are now sourcing from large production facilities in China dedicated to the fabrication, assembly and testing of all types and sizes of MacGREGOR hatch covers. Since 1996 the Group Hatch Cover division has developed its partner plant production concept in China, nowadays producing hatch covers from two partner plants on the river Yangtze one located in Nantong, about 120km north-west of Shanghai, and the other plant in Fuling, in the Chongqing area.

MacGREGOR is also basing its international crane production in China, and a partnership with L¼zhou Machine Works is the centrepiece of a strategy to increase its share of worldwide crane sales. L¼zhou Machine Works is based in Nanjing and belongs to the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). It has been selected as MacGREGOR main manufacturing base for cranes, supplying the growing shipbuilding industry in China as well as other Asian countries.