The Wilh. Wilhelmsen group has launched its 150th anniversary vessel, MV Tønsberg, into operation. The Mark V class is the most sophisticated vessel ever built in the roll-on roll-off segment.
“We expect that Mark V will strengthen our position as the global market leader within deep sea roll-on roll-off transport”, says Jan Eyvin Wang, president and CEO of Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, representing the owner of the vessel. “The Mark V class is the most sophisticated ro-ro vessels ever built, with major innovative design criteria such as high ramp capacity, deck strength and height, low fuel consumption, good transportation economy and safe cargo handling. Together with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, we have constructed a class of environmentally friendly vessels with several unique features”.
The Mark V vessel is the largest of its kind, with a length of 265 metres offering a cargo volume of 138 000 cubic metres over six fixed and three hoistable decks. The pioneering roll-on roll-off vessel is built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, Japan. Four Mark V vessels will be delivered to Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and its partner Wallenius Lines. The second vessel will be delivered in August and two in 2012.
Wilh. Wilhelmsen technical department developed the design in close cooperation with the shipyard and has been responsible for follow-up of the construction work at the yard.
Built for larger, heavier cargo
Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA experienced a strong rebound in its shipping operations last year, with a 25% increase in transported volumes in 2010 compared with 2009. “The market demands new and more effective tonnage, and we foresee the Mark V class as a dynamic driver in its segment”, explains Jan Eyvin Wang.
The entire cargo hold of the MV Tønsberg is arranged for customer’s high and heavy cargo such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and harvesters.
With a width of 12 metres and safe working load of 505 tonnes, the vessel’s stern ramp offers customers the possibility to ship larger units than ever before. The clear height of the main deck, 7.1 metres, is also unprecedented for this kind of vessel.
Cargo can even be loaded on the weather deck, which has a ramp from the deck below. Three decks can be hoisted by electric winches to provide maximum flexibility and utilisation. MV Tønsberg will commence service in the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics’ round-the-world trade. “M/V Tønsberg will make Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics unique position in the market for transport of high and heavy cargo even stronger,” explains Wang.
“The M/V Tønsberg is a welcomed addition to our fleet, allowing us to carry larger cargo, and more of it, with reduced environmental impacts,” says Arild Iversen, president and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. “MV Tønsberg and our entire 2011 newbuilding programme mean better service, more options and more capacity for our customers. Such investments are how we maintain our promise to deliver innovative and sustainable global shipping and logistics solutions for manufacturers of cars, trucks, heavy equipment and specialised cargo.”
Designed for sustainability
The Mark V will use 15 to 20% less fuel per transported unit than its predecessors, thanks to a optimised hull form and a number of energy saving features such as the streamlined rudder design and duck tail. In the engine room an advanced turbo generator produces electricity from the waste, exhaust heat. In total, these initiatives help to cut emissions significantly.
A Unitor water ballast water treatment system avoids harmful transfer of microorganisms to the sea. Further, all fuel oil tanks are protected to minimise the risk of leakage in case of grounding or collision.
MV Tønsberg is the fourth vessel with this name in the Wilh. Wilhelmsen fleet. It is named after the coastal town in Norway where Wilh. Wilhelmsen was founded in 1861. MV Tønsberg is the Wilh. Wilhelmsen group’s 150th anniversary vessel.
Manning and technical management will be performed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management Norway. MV Tønsberg will fly the Maltese flag, and be owned by Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning Malta, which is owned by Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA.
The new Mark V class is the largest and most sophisticated roll-on roll-off carrier ever built. The first vessel, MV Tønsberg, is now launched into operation.
Source: Wilhelmsen
John Holland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Ltd has secured a $150 million subcontract for the construction of marine offloading facilities as part of Gladstone LNG’s proposed Curtis Island LNG facility.
Libya's rebel national council wants to establish a secular democracy that would respect oil contracts awarded under Muammar Gaddafi if it toppled the Libyan leader, members of the council said in Paris.
Canada's Calvalley Petroleum Inc said the unrest in Yemen has delayed the supply of its equipment and it has been facing transportation problems, sending shares of the company down 13 percent.
The Department of Environmental Protection has ordered Chesapeake Energy to cease work on a natural gas drilling well pad for failing to comply with regulations and impacting one of Galeton Borough Water Authority's water sources. 
Maersk Oil said on Wednesday the costs of storm damage to its Gryphon floating production unit in the UK part of the North Sea remain unclear but the company has normal insurance coverage for it.
Thrustmaster of Texas, Inc. received a contract from Hyundai Heavy Industries for the supply and installation of multiple sets of 5MW azimuth thrusters for the next generation deep water drillships being built at Hyundai’s shipyard in Ulsan, Korea.
Aker Solutions has signed a contract with Statoil to supply control umbilicals to the Norne field located in the Northern part of the North Sea. The contract value is approximately NOK 200 million.
The Nordane tug Stevns Icecap, which was sold to the Canadian mining company Rio Tinto Alcan in January, is now under way to Canada on the Dutch heavylift carrier Fairlane. It was loaded on the deck of Fairlane at Svendborg.
Danish shipping company Norden has secured a five-year contract with the Norwegian state-owned mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Grubekompani AS for the transport of coal from Svalbard to the European continent.
The Wilh. Wilhelmsen group has announced that it has marked its 150th anniversary with the launch of the Mark V ro-ro ship, ‘Tønsberg’, claimed to be the largest ro-ro ship afloat.
OGX Petróleo e Gás Participações S.A. (“OGX”) , the Brazilian oil and gas company responsible for the largest private sector exploratory campaign in Brazil, announced that it has identified the presence of hydrocarbons in the Albian section of well 3-OGX-36D-RJS, an appraisal well of the Pipeline accumulation which was initially discovered through the drilling of well 1-OGX-2A.
Cnooc Ltd. (883), China’s biggest offshore oil producer, plans to start new fields at home and add assets abroad after its fastest output growth boosted annual profit by 85 percent.
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia has contracted Aker Offshore Partner to modify platforms on the Eldfisk field in the Norwegian North Sea.
On March 22 2011 bulk carrier Costis required assistance 63 nm off Taiwan coast, vessel disabled, with flooded engine room.
On the night of March 19 2011 vessel, lodaded with salt, sank in waters of Belize, some 3 miles east of Caye Caulker village.
On Tuesday afternoon, 22 March 2011, at 14:35 clock, it came during a towing operation with a larger cargo ship in the harbor Vorwerker to a contact with two other ships.
Havila Shipping ASA has entered into a contract with MLS/Total E&P Norge AS for the AHTS vessel Havila Jupiter. Expected commencement is in April.
Leading international oilfield services company Expro has secured a £1.5million contract with an international oil and gas operator in its Europe CIS region.
OOCL signed a contract with Samsung Heavy Industries today for the construction of six 13,000-TEU vessels. This marks the first newbuilding order OOCL has ever placed for mega container vessels of this size. The new collection of the 13,000-TEU vessels further reinforces OOCL’s commitment to substantial asset investment in order to offer customers better service and to support the expansion of world trade with reduced environment impacts.
Qatar Petroleum and Shell today announced the first flow of dedicated offshore gas into the Pearl GTL plant located in Ras Laffan Industrial City in the State of Qatar.
ONE of the world's biggest marine insurance firms believes it is on track to increase its market share further and create jobs after extending its offices on Newcastle Quayside.
The dry bulk market posted modest gains on Wednesday, with the Baltic Dry Index rising to 1,565 points, up by 1.43 percent on the day, led by gains of 3.12 percent in the Capesize market. It was the second day of gains for the market, on the aftermath of the devastation in Japan,which is still expected to impact the market, both in a positive way and in a negative way, depending on the type of trade. Still, as analysts noted, the Capesize segment, which is the most overweighed by a huge orderbook and a flurry of new building deliveries, remained among the lowest earning ones for ship owners, with average rates now standing at just over $10,000 per day.
ABS Vice President of Global Gas William J. Sember said the classification society is in advanced stages of design review for a number of Floating LNG (FLNG) concepts, as this technology moves ever closer to reality. Speaking at the Gastech 2011 conference, where he chaired the technical session on FLNG terminals and systems, Sember noted that as recently as five years ago, floating solutions for the import and export of LNG were still considered new and novel concepts.
March 21, 2011 - Viktor Lenac has completed the conversion and repair of the crane-pipe laying vessel “Seminole“, owned by Italy’s Subsea Oil Services (part of Micoperi Srl from Ravenna). The shipyard built and outfitted a complete new superstructure weighing some 450 tons, including accommodations for 250 crew members, based on design and workshop drawings produced by the shipyard’s design team. The conversion project included extensive repairs and hull renewal reaching a total value of 16 million euros.
Renewed concerns about atomic power triggered by an earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan may spur orders for liquefied-natural gas tankers already in short supply, according to Mirae Asset Securities Co.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla., has delivered the second of two 292' Tiger Shark-class platform-supply vessels to Lafayette, La.,-based Aries Marine Corp.
Tokyo, March 16, 2011 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. today delivered theStenia Colossus bulk carrier for “K” Line Pte Ltd at its Sakaide Works. This 197-meter-long vessel (Kawasaki hull No. 1677) is the fifth state-of-the-art bulk carrier with a capacity of 58,000 DWT to be developed by Kawasaki.
The three ships were part of the 18 ordered by Bangkok-based Precious Shipping at ABG at a total cost of $518 million (Rs2,331 crore) with deliveries starting from March 2010 and running through to December 2013
On 22 March 2011, STX Finland Oy and Gaiamare Ltd signed a contract for the construction of an innovative and versatile multipurpose deck cargo vessel. The ship will be delivered during spring 2012 and has a length of 105 metres and a width of 19 metres. The environmentally friendly ship will provide work for about 300 persons.
The Wilh. Wilhelmsen group has launched its 150th anniversary vessel, MV Tønsberg, into operation. The Mark V class is the most sophisticated vessel ever built in the roll-on roll-off segment.
Euro Exchange Rate