NKK (Nippon Kokan) of Japan has developed a 35,000-dwt, standard type bulk carrier designed to meet the increasing demand for ships smaller than Panamax types. Shin-ichi Hirayama, president of NKK America Inc., said the ship will be constructed at the company's Shimizu shipyard.
With a draft of about 34½ feet, the carrier could call at most of the major ports of the world. Its hull is designed with the strength to carry all kinds of heavy cargo in alternate holds, and its large hatch openings would expedite the loading and unloading of containers.
The beam of the vessel has been broadened to reduce hull weight, a feature of an economical ship, but it maintains the operational efficiency of a conventional ship. Length between perpendiculars is 547.89 feet, beam is 96.78 feet, depth is 48.55 feet, and draft 34.45 feet. The vessel's main engine will be a Sulzer 6RLB-66 diesel with a service rating of 11,850 bhp, providing a speed of 15.1 knots.