Smart barge
Smart Barge is a medium-sized container ship newly developed in the Netherlands for traffic on inland waterways. The shipping company Mercurius Scheepvaart, which has already designed many new concepts for shipping, is in charge of the development. The background for this new ship was the fact that mostly old ships that are not optimally adapted for container transport are used on inland waterways.
The Smart Barge can load all types of containers, has a sophisticated ballast system to adapt the ship to all route conditions, and the shape of the underwater hull is optimally matched to the relationship between driving resistance and propulsion. The hull is built from shipbuilding steel grade A and high tensile steel AH-36. This achieves a significantly lower curb weight than with old ships. Due to the low weight and the installation of two Z-drives , 10–15% fuel savings are expected. In order to be able to use the cargo space optimally, more than 10 TEU lengths, the aft apartment is located in a so-called campaign deck. The wheelhouse can be lowered hydraulically.
Technical specifications
- Length: 86.0 m
- Width: 11.45 m
- Draft: 3.20 m
- Load capacity: 2,000 tons
- Container TEU: 177 in four layers, 130 in three layers
- Drive: 2 × Z-drive, propeller 1.25 m diameter
- Motor: 2 × 550–750 HP
- Bow thruster: 1 Veth jet with 600 hp
particularities
Thanks to the modular construction, the client has the option of designing the ship according to his wishes, for example with the apartment in front and a reinforced roof for container transport or with a separate apartment aft. Upon request, the ship can also be delivered with a length of 110 meters.
source
- Mercurius Group website. NL