SAL Heavy Lift, Germany’s SAL Heavy Lift has exercised an option for a 14,600 DWT multi-purpose heavy lift vessel (MPP) with Wuhu Shipyard, bringing its newbuilding order book with Wuhu Shipyard to five, according to a foreign media report.
The latest alternative vessel to enter into force is scheduled for delivery in mid-2025 and will be named “Vera”. Also, SAL Heavy Lift has another vessel of the same type pending commencement. It is reported that SAL Heavy Lift and Wuhu Shipyard signed a contract on July 15, 2022 for the construction of 4+2 14,600 DWT multipurpose heavy lift vessels. Four of these vessels have been effective on the day of signing and are now in the construction phase, with deliveries to commence in the second quarter of 2024. The first two vessels of this series have already reached a long-term cooperation agreement with Siemens Gamesa, and will be used exclusively for the transportation of offshore wind turbines and other related projects. The other 2 vessels are planned to enter the high-end heavy equipment lifting and transportation market in the first half of 2025.
The new generation 14,600 DWT multi-purpose heavy lift vessel, designed by the Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI) under China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), is a new generation of environmentally friendly, multi-purpose and high-end heavy lift vessel tailor-made for SAL Heavy Lift and its partner, the Dutch’s Jumbo Shipping. The vessel has a length of 149.9 meters, a beam of 27.2 meters, a deadweight of 14,600 tons and a maximum speed of 18.5 knots. The vessel will have the largest single cargo hold of any heavy lift vessel in its class, which will be open to carry heavy oversized cargo. The hull design and related equipment will also meet cryogenic requirements to ensure safe navigation in polar waters, and will be awarded the 1A Ice Zone Notation and Polar Notation.
The vessel will be fitted with two specially designed all-electric cranes with a lifting capacity of 800 tons each. The equipment will be paired with the vessel’s intelligent energy management and recovery system, which allows for both conventional use in hybrid mode and shore power operation during port calls. It also features a compact and efficient main engine and diesel-electric hybrid powertrain for greater fuel economy and redundancy. At service speeds, the vessel can reduce fuel consumption by 20 tons per day.
Up till now, Wuhu Shipyard has completed the target task of new orders for this year ahead of schedule.
During the Marintec China exhibition held last week, Wuhu Shipyard signed a contract with Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping (Group) Co. for the construction of 4+6 new energy bulk carriers of 89,000 DWT. The series of ships will be initially determined to be built in Wuhu Shipyard Weihai base. It is reported that the cooperation between the two sides not only includes the shipbuilding field. In the future, the two sides will also carry out in-depth cooperation on the expansion of new energy industry, battery-powered ships, ship supporting supply chain construction, etc.
On November 21, Wuhu Shipyard also received 6+6 38,000 DWT stainless steel chemical/product tankers from Norwegian shipping company Stolt-Nielsen, with the first batch of new vessels expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2028. It is understood that the order could be worth more than $700 million.