GL’s Route Specific Container Stowage wins Innovation Award
GL’s Route Specific Container Stowage class notation has been recognised as the technological innovation of the year at the prestigious Containerisation International 2013 Awards ceremony in London. The awards are given in recognition of companies and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution to the container liner shipping and logistics industry, through being innovative, proactive and pioneering, the company said in its press release.
Traditionally rules and layouts for vessel lashing systems have been based on the stormy North Atlantic routes. This ignores the potential of tailoring plans to reflect the reduced wave and wind loads of other routes, increasing the stowage potential of a vessel.
“We are very pleased to accept this award,” said Jan-Olaf Probst, GL Global Ship Type Director. “We have worked closely with several industry partners to develop the RSCS notation and have helped them to the increase their loading flexibility, while maintaining the same high levels of safety for their vessels and cargo.”
GL developed, published, and implemented rules for the Route Specific Container Stowage (RSCS) class notation by combining long-term statistical wave data with advanced computations, taking into account considering current market developments, for routes with better weather conditions.
With RSCS, ship operators have greater flexibility in stowing heavier containers in higher positions on deck. This is because the centre of gravity of shielded stacks can be increased by up to 21%. Moreover, a significant increase of in-hold stack weight for 20-foot stowage – up to 25% - can be achieved. In addition to these benefits, nominal capacity can be increased and an additional tier can be added where the line of sight is not affected.
The implementation of RSCS is easy and offers high impact with low implementation effort. Owners and managers merely adopt an addendum to the Container Securing Arrangement plan and install or update a certified lashing computer on board, with integrated software elements from GL. No further retro-fitting measures of equipment are needed.