The Madame Butterfly is the first in a series of four pure car, truck carriers (PC/TC) delivered by Kockums, A.B., Malmo, Sweden, to Wallenius Lines, Stockholm.
The 13-deck, 17,000-dwt Madame Butterfly is the first major ship of this type to be built outside Japan. She can transport 6,120 passenger cars or a combination of 2,900 cars and 520 commercial vehicles.
Designed for a service speed of 20.3 knots, the ship has an overall length of 198.12 m, a molded breadth of 32.25 m, a height to the sixth deck of 13.64 m (13.69 m aft), and a scantling draft of 11.5 m (about 650 feet, 105.8 feet, 44.8/44.9 feet and 37.7 feet).
Built to Lloyd's Register of Shipping classification, the vessel's propulsion is supplied by a Burmeister and Wain type 7 L80GFCA direct-reversing diesel engine which is derated to 18,400 bhp at 106 rpm for fuel economy. It drives a solid propeller and is remotely controlled from the bridge or from the engine control room.
The electrical supply is from three diesel engine-driven 2,000-kva, 1,600-kw, 440-volt alternators, each engine being a Wartsila-Vasa 4-stroke unit running at 720 rpm.
To conserve fuel, the autopilot is designed to reduce unnecessary course corrections. Each ship of this series has a 1,500-hp bow thruster.
MacGregor Scandinavia of Gothenburg was consulted by Kockums on the logistics involved in moving 6,120 cars on or off a vessel having 52,000 internal meters (about 170,612 feet) of roll. MacGregor claims operating costs have been minimized because the ship design obtains the maximum deadweight within parameters of seaworthy integrity and because of the reduction of cargo handling time in port.
MacGregor contributed 13 separate items to the Madame Butterfly. These include the stern and side entry ramps, the six internal ramps, five deck covers and eight doors, and the fixed and hoistable car decks.