GOTHENBURG, Sweden, July 14, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Concordia Maritime, a tanker company within the Stena Group, today reports that it has confirmed orders for four option two P-MAX medium range (MR) products carriers to be built at the Brodosplit Shipyard in Croatia.
These orders follow the Stena MAX concept developed by the Stena Group over the past five years providing tankships able to meet the growing challenges of transporting oil cargoes into sensitive areas in an ever increasingly environmentally conscious world combined with good transportation economy.
The new Stena P-MAX ships at about 49,900 dwt have lower draft and higher speed than traditional, modern MR products tankers. With a length overall of 183 metres -- equal to that of a traditional MR tanker, but beam of 40 metres as against 32.2 metres for today's MR -- the P-MAX will offer 70,000 cubic metres of cargo capacity, almost 30% more than the 55,000 cubic metres of today's largest MR vessels. This is the heart of the Stena MAX concept: 30% more cargo and highest safety.
The P-MAX will offer the active safety component of propulsion redundancy seen on the V-MAX VLCCs delivered to Concordia in 2001 and the C-MAX coastal products/LPG carriers introduced by Stena Bulk in 2002.
The P-MAX ships will have two engine rooms divided by a fire safe and watertight bulkhead; two engines with separate fuel supply and other auxiliary systems for each engine, two propeller shafts, two propellers and rudders, plus independent control and monitoring systems for each propulsion unit -- in accordance with the requirements of the DNV RPS class notation (Redundant Propulsion Separate). Fuel consumption is comparable with modern MR tankers at the same cargo intake.
In the product carrier sector, with frequent port calls, restricted water depths, traffic intensive waterways, sensitive cargoes and operations into sensitive areas, Concordia knows that improved manoeuvrability, reliability and redundancy found in all the Stena MAX ships are at the heart of safe ship operations. Another major advantage with the Stena MAX ships is that there may be less need for dredging of ports and approaches. This is a cost advantage but it is also environmentally sound to adjust the ships to Nature and not the other way round.
The P-MAX double hull will be further strengthened to DNV enhanced fatigue Class Notation Plus 2, and Swedish/Finnish Ice Class 1B. Navigation instrumentation and layout will be enhanced according to DNV NAUT-AW. With hull and machinery system failures accounting for some 25% of tanker incidents in 2002, according to INTERTANKO and collisions/groundings/contacts some 50%, Concordia is convinced that the features built into the P-MAX will make a positive difference to both safety and environmental protection - something that both charterers and the public will demand in future years.
Lars Carlsson, President of Concordia Maritime which will own the new line of ships said that Concordia and Stena have the products carrier experience as a significant charterer through its subsidiary StenTex, and the experience of owning and operating the Stena C-MAXes. He believes that now is the time for Concordia to expand into the challenging sectors, which the P-MAX orders represent. "The economics of scale for what is essentially a maxi medium range tanker will drive this deal in the commercial market, while there can be no doubt about the long term safety and environmental dividend" Carlsson said.
With the first P-MAX scheduled for delivery in 2005, no firm charters have been fixed. "These are highly flexible vessels with lots of opportunities," said Lars Carlsson. " We are having discussions with charterers and cargo owners, and with the Stena MAX concept up and running with great success, these P-MAX ships are being built for an increasingly environment conscious market and we have every confidence that they will have an outstanding future."
Concordia Home Page: www..Concordia-Maritime.SE
Concordia Maritime is an international large-tanker shipping company, which owns two new 314,000 dwt VLCCs delivered in 2001 and three VLCCs of about 270,000 dwt built in the mid-1970s. The new vessels, Stena V- MAX, in addition to having mandatory double hulls, were built according to a completely new tanker concept for safer oil transportation with double main engines in two completely separate engine rooms, double rudders and steering gear, two propellers and double control systems. All the vessels were built to very high specifications as regards both customer satisfaction and lifespan. The quality of the vessels and the management and manning organisations is documented by quality certificates from Det Norske Veritas and the American Bureau of Shipping.
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Graphic impression of the Stena P-MAX
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