Jumbo Shipping of the Netherlands is to take delivery of the two heaviest-lifting cargo ships in the world in 2003.
The 11,000t dwt, J-1600 class vessels have been ordered from Damen Shipyards Group.
The ships will each have two rotating mast cranes with a combined lift capacity of 1,600t at 16m outreach and a maximum outreach of 35m. The shallow draft of 6.5m will enable them to operate in small ports, Jumbo said.
Jumbo has ordered the vessels so that it can expand in the offshore and high-end petrochemical markets. Operational flexibility has been designed-in to enable the vessels to carry industrial components such as 150m-long reactor columns.
Jumbo marketing and communications manager Bert de Wolff said: “Following US dollar and oil price stabilisation, oil companies are now expanding their exploration and production activities. This will boost demand for transportation services, particularly with regard to the outfitting of FPSOs. In the chemicals industry, following a period of consolidation, companies are again starting up new projects.”
