South Korea’s major shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding announced it held a launching ceremony for a 400,000-ton Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) at the Jinhae Shipyard on Thursday.
The newly launched VLOC, the world’s largest, is 361 meters in length, 56 meters in width and 30.5 meters in height. It is about the size of three and half football stadiums and is able to carry 400,000 tons of iron ores at a nautical speed of 14.8 knots.
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding led research, design and construction of the VLOC on its own. The VLOC is designed for outstanding sailing performances and reduction of fuel costs. Operating the company’s high-capacity ballast water treatment system that can increase seawater discharges and shipping tonnage per hour, it could reach the goal of loading 16,000 tons of cargo an hour. This helped reduce bottlenecks in loading cargo on the vessel.
A TIER-II engine is built in the VLOC, contributing to cutting emissions of toxic gases including nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. In addition, high tensile steel has been used for the vessel to decrease the heavy weight of the hull, improving fuel efficiency and sailing speed.
This new VLOC will be dispatched to carry iron ores to Brazil’s largest iron ore company Vale under a long-term contract with STX Pan Ocean.
Meanwhile, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding has successfully delivered three fleets of 13,000-TEU container carriers and one fleet of 320,000-ton Very Large Crude oil Carrier (VLCC) this year.
The newly launched VLOC, the world’s largest, is 361 meters in length, 56 meters in width and 30.5 meters in height. It is about the size of three and half football stadiums and is able to carry 400,000 tons of iron ores at a nautical speed of 14.8 knots.
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding led research, design and construction of the VLOC on its own. The VLOC is designed for outstanding sailing performances and reduction of fuel costs. Operating the company’s high-capacity ballast water treatment system that can increase seawater discharges and shipping tonnage per hour, it could reach the goal of loading 16,000 tons of cargo an hour. This helped reduce bottlenecks in loading cargo on the vessel.
A TIER-II engine is built in the VLOC, contributing to cutting emissions of toxic gases including nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. In addition, high tensile steel has been used for the vessel to decrease the heavy weight of the hull, improving fuel efficiency and sailing speed.
This new VLOC will be dispatched to carry iron ores to Brazil’s largest iron ore company Vale under a long-term contract with STX Pan Ocean.
Meanwhile, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding has successfully delivered three fleets of 13,000-TEU container carriers and one fleet of 320,000-ton Very Large Crude oil Carrier (VLCC) this year.