MacGregor, of the Cargotec group, has won a contract from New Times Shipyard, in China, for Intership Navigation Co Ltd's three new 36,500dwt Laker-class bulk carriers.

Cyprus-based Intership Navigation manages a fleet of more than 80 vessels, mainly consisting of dry bulk and break bulk vessels, cement carriers and product tankers.

The newly-ordered vessels will each have six holds and will be purpose-built for specific trades and routes. Each ship will feature an optimised MacGregor cargo-handling system comprising MacGregor cranes and hatch covers as well as Hatlapa steering gear and electrically-driven variable frequency drive (VFD) Hatlapa deck equipment. 

"Today's environmental standards and uncertainties in the global economy set new challenges for ship designs," explains Hans Berg, account manager for Intership at MacGregor. "These new ships
will effectively be upgraded versions of Intership's existing Laker-class vessels."
 
The ships are expected to have a 20 per cent reduction in fuel consumption in comparison with existing similarly-classed vessels. This is predominantly achieved through the use of an optimised hull form and
propulsion system developed by DNV-GL consultancy company, FutureShip.
 
MacGregor's equipment package will also play a role in delivering more sustainable operations. The solution consists of hydraulically-operated folding hatch covers, four MacGregor electro-hydraulic cranes (2 x GLB3628 and 2 x GLB3626), a Hatlapa VFD deck machinery ship set as well as Hatlapa Triton 800 rotary vane steering gear. MacGregor deliveries are planned to start at the end of 2015 and continue into 2016.