…As Virgin Voyages Unveils Plans for Miami Terminal***
The world’s first intelligent very large ore carrier (iVLOC), the DNV GL-classed Pacific Vision, was delivered by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard to China Merchants Energy Shipping Company.
The vessel is the world’s first VLOC to implement DNV GL’s SmartShip descriptive notation.
To qualify for the notation, Pacific Vision has been outfitted with an integration platform, a smart navigation decision support system, a ship energy efficiency management and optimization system, and smart-vessel operation and maintenance system.
“With the SmartShip notation, we wanted to give customers a platform to clearly present the new technologies they were utilizing to optimize performance, enhance safety, and minimize their environmental impact. This notation supports our customers who are developing smart ships that are setting the standards for the future of shipping,” Norbert Kray, DNV GL’s Regional Manager Greater China, said.
As part of the SmartShip notation, the ship has features including operational enhancement (OE), performance enhancement (PE), and condition monitoring enhancement (CME).
The vessel will operate between Brazil and Asia (China, Japan, Malaysia and Oman), and will very likely also been deployed for the Brazil and Europe trade (Rotterdam, Italy).
The main particulars of the 400K VLOC are:
Overall length: 362 m
Breadth: 65 m
Depth: 30.4 m
Draught: 23 m
Deadweight: 399,999 DWT
In the meantime, Florida-based cruise ship company Virgin Voyages has revealed its plans to build a home port in Miami to fit its new cruise ship, Scarlet Lady.
Pending the Board of County Commission’s approval of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for construction of a new cruise facility, the company’s new terminal is planned for PortMiami.
The company joined forces with Miami-based architecture and design firm Arquitectonica to make its vision of the terminal come true.
Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, scheduled to set sail in 2020, will feature 110,000 gross tons, a length of 278 meters and a width of 38 meters.
The unit is the first one from a batch of three ships ordered under an EUR 2 billion construction deal signed with Fincantieri in December 2016. The new vessels will be equipped with an energy production system of around 1 MW, with the second and the third units expected to join their owner in 2021 and 2022.
They will have over 1,400 guest cabins that can host more than 2,700 passengers, accompanied by 1,150 crew members on board.
In October 2018, Virgin Voyages decided to add a fourth cruise ship from Fincantieri. Under the deal, valued at EUR 700 million, the shipbuilder would hand over the latest unit to the company at the end of 2023.
World Maritime News
