10,000-TEU 'Seaspan Saver' sets new standards for fuel efficiency design

THE 10,000-TEU ship developed by MARIN and Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC), named the Seaspan Saver, has been turning heads in the shipping industry, as it is said to be setting new standards in container ship design.

MARIN and MARIC designed the hull lines of the vessel that has been designed with a low operational cost profile in mind, reports MarineLink from New York.

It said Canadian owner Seaspan requested a hull form that facilitates very low fuel consumption in the operational speed range, but at the same time retain an acceptable top speed.

The report highlighted that this approach is in stark contrast to previous ideas that focused on having the highest possible top speed. This new design is desirable given the current slow steaming trend and upcoming EEDI regulations. It said the well-balanced container ship design was created with the aid of extensive CFD and RANS calculations.

Following the optimisation of the hull lines, a large ship model was manufactured. For large container vessels of up to 20,000 TEU, hull models up to 13 metres in length are used with propeller diameters close to 300 mm. This avoids scale effects as much as possible. The propeller was designed by Japan's Nakashima, and the twisted leading edge rudder design was made by German company Becker Marine Systems.