Complete hatch cover deliveries are now flowing from MacGREGOR to major South Korean shipbuilders which have hitherto ordered key components and arranged local steel fabrication for their newbuildings

Groups such as Hyundai and Daewoo, along with their valued customers, now appreciate the merits of complete hatch cover packages designed, contract-managed, fabricated and commissioned by specialist MacGREGOR personnel. MacGregor guarantees consistent quality throughout the world, and Korean yards, for example, are benefiting from the proximity of MacGREGOR's hatch cover production in China.

The first complete hatch cover deliveries for the Hyundai shipbuilding group were commissioned for a pair of 52,000 dwt bulk carriers ordered by Pan Ocean Shipping for handover early next year. These Handymax bulkers from the group's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard will each be served by an outfit of MacGREGOR high-stowing folding covers operated by external hydraulic cylinders.

A clear opening 20.80m long x 18.40m wide will be provided in No 1 hatch by 2+2 panels arranged forward and aft, while hatches Nos 2 to 5 will each offer a 21.60m x 18.40m opening via 2+2 panel sets. Sealing between hatch covers and coamings, and between hatch cover panels, will be secured by MacGREGOR FlexSeal type rubber packing. Additional rubber packing is specified for the split joints, arranged above the initial packing to form a double-row tightening.

Another major South Korean shipbuilder, Daewoo, will receive complete MacGREGOR liftaway cover packages for two 4,500 TEU container ships booked by Contship Containerlines. Each shipset comprises 41 panels arranged to yield the following hatch openings:

• No 1 hatch: twin panels, 12.60m long x 18.05m/13.01m wide
• No 2 hatch: triple panels, 12.60m x 18.05m
• No 3 hatch: triple panels, 12.60m x 23.09m
• Nos 4-14 hatches: triple panels, 12.60m x 28.07m.

Depending on their location, the panels are designed to accept container stack loadings from 90 tonnes (20ft units) to 120 tonnes (40ft units).

Complete deliveries supported

Full support is offered to shipowners worldwide wishing to source complete MacGREGOR hatch cover deliveries from China for local and overseas newbuilding projects. Consistently high quality in both materials and manufacture is underwritten by MacGREGOR's global quality management procedure, which is approved and certificated by DNV to ISO 9001 requirements. This procedure is followed for every project, guaranteeing the quality of the hatch covers supplied, no matter where the newbuilding is commissioned.

[a high resolution version of this picture is available from Steve Labdon:] Shipsets of hatch covers each comprising 41 panels being transported from China to Korea for a pair of 4,500 TEU container ships on order at Daewoo