Another owner has elected to perform bulbous bow surgery in an effort to optimise fuel efficiency. Clipper Project Shipping had the bulb of its 2011-built Clipper Galaxy, a 9,100dwt multi-purpose carrier, modified while the vessel was drydocked at China’s Lixin Shipyard near Shanghai last year.
The existing bulb was cut off and a new bulb with a different size and shape was installed, and a new rudder bulb was added at the same time. Since then, comparing fuel consumption before and after the modifications, as well as the ship’s current loading and speed patterns, the overall savings have been around 8.5 per cent, including the rudder bulb effect. JS
