Final HERO named in Sweden

Norwegian/Swedish shipping and logistics company Wallenius Wilhelmsen has named MV Nabucoo, the final in a series of four HERO large car and truck carriers (LCTCs).

The naming ceremony for the 73,358 GT RoRo vessel took place at the Port of Gothenburg in Sweden on 7 December.

“This vessel is at the forefront when it comes to minimizing carbon emissions, ship recycling and fuel efficiency. She is our last vessel based on conventional fuel technology and we now look towards the next generation of energy solutions,” Torbjørn Wist, Acting CEO Wallenius Wilhelmsen, said.

Nabucco and its sister ships are said to be among the most sustainable RoRo vessels in the global fleet.

The HERO class reduces energy consumption by improving the cargo to ballast ratio. As the increased beam (36.5m) provides better stability, there is less need for ballast water, according to the company.

In addition, an optimized hull diminishes drag and wave resistance, improving fuel efficiency, while the engine has been tuned for low-load operation to reduce fuel consumption.

The HERO vessels are designed to further strengthen Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s competitive advantage in the high & heavy and breakbulk markets. The cargo hold on the Nabucco has been arranged with electrically hoistable deck panels, allowing for fast, safe and flexible operations to cater for variations in the cargo mix and enabling it to carry large and heavy (out-of-gauge) cargo.

The 200-meter-long vessel was delivered by Tianjin Xingang Shipbuilding.

It is now on its way to Zeebrugge for loading and will sail to the US, Asia and back to Europe.