Omni class
 The Ludwigshafen
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
The ship class , often referred to as the Omni-Ships , also known as the Ludwigshafen- Class , was a series of semi-container ships on the Hamburg-America Line .
This high-speed freighter series from Hapag represents their last acquisition of conventional general cargo ships before the merger with North German Lloyd and the subsequent conversion of the two shipping companies to container ships .
history
The series of this design of the Finkenwerder factory of Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft in Hamburg comprised four units that were put into service in 1970. The shipping company hoped to expand and improve the efficiency of the Hapag Express service through the concept of the fast freighters, which, with their speed of 23 knots, which were once again higher than that of the Westfalia class and Friesenstein class , enabled a considerable reduction in travel times to the Far East . This joint service to East Asia was operated with Norddeutscher Lloyd and integrated into Hapag-Lloyd AG on September 1, 1970 through the merger.
The first ship of the class was the Ludwigshafen , which was delivered on February 2, 1970 .
During the construction period of the Omni- Class, the change in long-distance liner traffic with the introduction of the container was already in full swing. Even before the ships were delivered and the subsequent merger of Hapag on September 1, 1970 with the NDL, both shipping companies had already commissioned their first four container ships in the Hamburg Express class for the East Asian service, which in 1972/1973 for the joint East Asia service of the newly founded Hapag-Lloyd got going. The ships of the Omni class were converted into container ships at Bremer Vulkan in Bremen in 1978/79 by installing new central aisles. The hulls were both lengthened and widened. Some of the 90-meter-long midship sections that were cut out during the renovation formed the basis for the new construction of conventional general cargo ships for Rickmers Reederei .
The transformation of Hapag-Lloyd into a container liner shipping company continued until the end of the 1970s. The Omni- class ships were flagged out and sold. All ships last sailed for the Swiss shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and were only scrapped in 2009.
technology
The most striking feature, in addition to the exceptionally powerful drive system, were the versatile loading facilities. The ships were equipped with four cranes (2 × 11 tons and 2 × 3 tons). In addition, all ships were equipped with two 40-tonne loading harnesses to take over heavy cargo . In front of the superstructure, which was moved far aft, there were five dry cargo holds, the intermediate decks of which were each closed with hydraulic smooth deck hatch covers. Another hold was behind the deckhouse . The main hatch covers were built according to the McGregor patent. Other loading facilities were the garages for forklifts, the facilities for accepting palletized or bulk loads, or the cargo tanks for oil loads. It was also noteworthy that the ships were equipped with a bulbous bow .
After the conversion, at the end of the 1970s, the ships had four cargo holds in front of the superstructures and one cargo hold aft. The loading of the container holds equipped with cell scaffolding was carried out through 15 hatches.
The propulsion of the ships consisted of a MAN nine-cylinder two - stroke diesel engine of the type K9Z86 / 160F with an output of 22,500 hp produced by the shipyard . The engine enables a speed of around 21 knots . Furthermore, three auxiliary diesels were available. To support the docking and casting off maneuvers, the ships were equipped with a bow thruster during their conversion .
The ships
| Omni ships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building name | Build number | IMO number | delivery | Later names and whereabouts |
| Ludwigshafen | 8th | 6930403 | January 1970 | 1979 converted Ludwigshafen Express , 1990 Ludwigshafen , 1990 Pol Gulf , 1993 MSC Giulia , arrived in Alang for demolition on March 23, 2009 and stranded on March 29 |
| gain | 9 | 7015274 | 1970 | 1979 rebuilt Erlangen Express , 1981 Incotrans Progress , 1982 Erlangen Express , 1986 Mee May , 1994 MSC Mee May , scrapped from April 8, 2009 |
| Leverkusen | 10 | 7020542 | 1970 | 1978 rebuilt Leverkusen Express , 1985 CGM Lorraine , 1986 Leverkusen Express , 1990 Pol Baltic , 1995 MSC Anastasia , stranded on August 21, 2009 for demolition in Alang |
| Maximum | 14th | 7033044 | 1971 | 1979 rebuilt Hoechst Express , 1981 Incotrans Promise , 1983 Incotrans Pacific , 1987 Michele , 1994 MSC Michele , arrived in Alang for demolition on August 16, 2009 and stranded on August 22 |
| Data: Equasis, large tonnage | ||||
literature
- Otto J. Seiler: East Asia trip . Liner shipping of Hapag-Lloyd AG through the ages. ES Mittler & Sohn, Herford 1988, ISBN 3-8132-0271-2 .
- Hans Georg Prager: Blohm + Voss . Ships and machines for the world. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1977, ISBN 3-7822-0127-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Equasis homepage (English)
- ↑ grosstonnage homepage (English)