Tsuneishi Shipbuilding has received its first order for the newly developed 38,300 mt type log and bulk carrier, the TESS38, from a Japanese ship owner.
The shipbuilder said that the order was received for multiple ships of this model, adding that a contract signing ceremony was held on April 14 at Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (CEBU), Inc. in the Philippines.
TESS38 started being developed in November 2014, and sales activities to acquire orders for this ship started at the end of the same year.
The newly developed TESS38 is based on the existing TESS35, but with its length extended by 3 meters to 180 meters to increase deadweight by 3,000 tons, totaling in 38,300 metric tons, breadth of 30 m and load draft of 10.45 m.
TESS38 comes standard-equipped with a cargo securing device that can secure log onto the decks.
The model has four deck cranes, and is built to realize improved cargo handling efficiency and ease of maintenance by having a hatch cover with a larger opening and a semi-box shaped hold area that is suited for transporting steel products.
The ship is also equipped with environmentally-friendly technologies such as energy saving device to improve propulsion efficiency, as well as an improved ship hull design that reduces wave and wind resistance.
According to Tsuneishi, these improvements have made TESS38 an eco-ship with an improved fuel efficiency of 15.4% compared to the company’s handy-size bulkers built in the 1990s.
The first TESS38 ship is scheduled to be completed in the end of 2017 at CEBU.