In June last year (2020), the world’s biggest container carrier, HMM ALGECIRAS, with a capacity of 24,000 teu; a length of 1,312ft and breadth of 200ft, arrived in Essex, from China, to drop off containers of imports and load containers of UK exports. There are SOLASAFE screens installed at all 21 of the vessel’s navigation bridge windows. The Daily Mail Online story can be found HERE.
ALGECIRAS is one of 7 sister vessels which were all constructed to the same specification by Daewoo (DSME), one of the “Big Three” shipbuilders of South Korea, with their headquarters and main shipyard located in Okpo on Geoje Island. All 7 vessels were built during 2020 for Hyundai Merchant Marine, the number one Korean national containers carrier and the world’s 8th largest container line in terms of vessel capacity.
TEU container capacity varies from ship to ship and is therefore somewhat confusing when it comes to deciding on the ‘biggest’ vessel, with the design capacity specified as 24,000 teu. However, all 7 vessels are 400mts (1,312ft) Long, 61mts (200ft) Beam and 33mts (109ft) Depth and have capacities varying between 23,696 and 23,964 teu, depending on each ship’s layout to accommodate some special types of container.
A Solar Solve team member commented, “Currently there are no bigger container carriers plying the seas, as far as we are aware and more vessels are being constructed to this same design by DSME during 2021.”
“This is a great achievement for Solar Solve Marine and our South Korean partners located in Busan, who we are in regular contact with. Over the past 25 years, we have supplied many tens of thousands of SOLASAFE roller sunscreens to DSME. We like to think that the quality, reliability and super service Solar Solve and our Korean distributor provides, are instrumental in achieving this success. It is not easy but we persevere and it seems to work.”
“SOLASAFE brand products are the only roller screens in the world to be Type Approved by Lloyd’s, ABS, DNV-GL and RINA. Once the screens are installed at the navigation bridge windows of any vessel, they can be instantly lowered to help counteract any glare, heat and uv light from the sun, to improve the working environment for ship’s personnel, and instantly retracted when not required.”
John H Lightfoot MBE
