Raven Rock class
_into_the_Port_of_Ash_Shuaiba,_Kuwait.jpg) The Reichenfels as Cape Texas (T-AKR 112)
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The Rabenfels class , also called the R class, was a class of ships owned by the DDG "Hansa" shipping company . Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG in Kiel developed the design known as the Ro-Ro 15 . The Sasebo Heavy Industries shipyards in Sasebo, Japan, and HDW each built two units of these ConRo ships in 1977 .
history
The ships were ordered in 1976 for use between Europe and the Persian Gulf and were delivered within the second half of 1977. The background to the order was the chronically congested ports of the target area. After around three years of service to the Persian Gulf and the United States with the German Steamship Company "Hansa", it filed for bankruptcy on August 18, 1980.
In the course of 1980, all four ships are sold, although some of them remained in service for a short time for DDG Hansa in liquidation until they were sold. Two ships were put up in Baltimore, where they were looked after by the shipping company Christian F. Ahrenkiel from Hamburg. The Rauenfels will be used by Hapag-Lloyd for around a year and then sold on. Rabenfels and Reichenfels are passed on to the US shipping company Lykes Lines at the beginning of 1981 for around DM 20 million each . Today the Rauenfels is the only one of the ships in regular service. She sails as Oceanex Sanderling for a Canadian shipping company.
The other three of the ships were acquired by the United States Department of Transportation in 1993 and assigned to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) in Norfolk. The trio operates these to this day as Cape Texas (T-AKR 112), Cape Taylor (T-AKR 113) and Cape Trinity (T-AKR 9711). They are currently part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) and can be operational within five days.
Loading space arrangement
The ships of the Rabenfels class have three continuous decks with a total lane length of a good 2200 meters. A total of 180 40-foot trailers can be accommodated in these lanes. An additional 422 TEU or a further 72 trailers can be transported on the outer deck . The most important part of the on-board transhipment facility is a 35-meter-long and seven-meter-wide stern ramp that can be swiveled horizontally by 33 degrees and consists of three sections. The ships built in Japan received a Navire stern ramp with a centrally arranged mast with a movable spreader. Unlike the sister ships built in Germany with MacGregor ramps, they have winch masts on the side. The ramp is designed for a maximum load of 160 tons and is used for loading and unloading at quay heights up to 2.10 meters below and four meters above the level of the lanes of the ship's deck. In addition, the ship has two side ports and a mobile gantry crane on deck.
technology
The main propulsion of the ships consists of two nine-cylinder MAN diesel engines of the type 9L 52 / 55A with a speed of 450 revolutions per minute each, which act on a four-bladed variable pitch propeller via a gearbox. The propeller rotates at 128 revolutions per minute. Docking and casting off maneuvers are made easier by two bow thrusters each .
The ships
| Raven Rock class | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| execution | Ship name | Shipyard / construction number | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Later names | Whereabouts |
| ConRo ship | Raven Rock | Sasebo / 256 | 17th January 1977 | March 31, 1977 | July 8, 1977 | Cygnus , ASL Cygnus , Thekwini , T-AKR 113 Cape Taylor | In motion |
| ConRo ship | Rauenfels | Sasebo / 257 | February 15, 1977 | 15th July 1977 | September 21, 1977 | Essen , Kongsfjord , Onno , ASL Sanderling , Oceanex Sanderling | In motion |
| ConRo ship | Reichenfels | HDW / 112 | 1st February 1977 | June 16, 1977 | September 30, 1977 | Lyra , Cape Texas (T-AKR 112) | In motion |
| ConRo ship | Rheinfels | HDW / 113 | February 15, 1977 | July 19, 1977 | 7th December 1977 | Norefjord , Radbod , Santos , Canadian Forest , Santos , Cape Trinity (T-AKR 9711) | In motion |
literature
- Prager, Hans Georg: DDG Hansa - From liner service to special shipping . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1976, ISBN 3-7822-0105-1 .
- Peter Kiehlmann, Holger Patzer: The cargo ships of the DDG Hansa . HM Hauschild, Bremen 2000, ISBN 3-931785-02-5 .