A new design of ro-ro reefer ship has recently been developed by Knud E. Hansen in close co-operation with Stena RoRo and Reefer Intel. The RoRo Reefer Vessel is intended for worldwide operation in the banana trade, with particular emphasis on fast and efficient cargo handling in port.
Green technology has also been considered for the machinery plant, to give up to 40 per cent lower unit costs and 45 per cent more capacity than traditional reefers. Load and discharge is intended to take only 12 hours, compared to an average 36-48 hours currently, giving a very low box rate by very fast and efficient cargo handling in port, which enables slow steaming.
In order to optimise cargo handling on the under-deck areas, the bridge and engine have been positioned forward of the ship in the second version of the design. The new refined design gives the ship a capacity of about 12,500 HC pallets: 6,800 HC pallets on cassettes inside the ship and another 5,700 HC pallets in refrigerated containers on the weather deck. On the return trip, the ship has 4,400 lane metres, equivalent to about 900-1,000 cars, and general and project cargo can be transported as well.
