Introducing the world’s largest box ship: MSC Oscar

The previous issue of Container Shipping & Trade carried an article about CSCL Globe. This vessel, with its capacity of 19,100 teu, was the first to take the title of world’s largest container ship from Maersk Line’s Triple-E class, first launched in 2013. Yet, even as invited guests were enjoying a tour of CSCL Globe during its maiden call at Felixstowe in January, a new record breaker was nearing completion at a shipyard in South Korea.

Such is the pace of the container industry’s race to commission ever larger ships that CSCL Globe held its title for just 53 days. On 14 January, exactly seven days after CSCL Globe made its UK debut, the naming ceremony was held for MSC Oscar.

This is the first in a new series of six Olympic class ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) that were ordered in 2013. The order was placed by Hong Kong Asset Management, but China’s  Bank of Communications Finance Leasing Co has subsequently taken over ownership of the series with long-term charter to Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).

MSC Oscar was named by Diego Aponte, president and chief executive of MSC and the son of the company’s founder Gianluigi Aponte. The Geneva-based line has a long tradition of naming its vessels after family members and MSC Oscar is no exception. It takes its name from the younger Mr Aponte’s son Oscar. The next vessel in the series, MSC Oliver, is named after one of Mr Aponte’s cousins.

The six vessels in the Olympic series are all due for delivery by November 2015. They are being constructed by the world’s second largest shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), at its facility at Okpo in South Korea, at a cost of US$140 million each. DSME has a long history of building the world’s largest container ships and MSC has been a regular customer in the past.

The construction of MSC Oscar took only 11 months to complete, from the initial steel cutting through to final delivery, with the keel being laid on 15 July 2014. Extensive commissioning tests and sea trials were carried out prior to the vessel being handed over.

Because of space restrictions at the Okpo shipyard and in order to reduce construction costs, approximately 25 per cent of the hull and accommodation blocks used in the construction of MSC Oscar were assembled at the shipbuilder’s DSME Shandong Co (DSSC) facility. They were then moved by heavy-lift ship to Okpo for final assembly.

MSC was the first line to take delivery of a twin island ULCV, in 2009. This was 14,000 teu MSC Daniela, also built by DSME. As with most new ULCVs over 10,000 teu, Oscar has the same twin island layout. The bridge and accommodation superstructure is located at the one-third forward position, while the engineroom and funnel are at the three quarters aft position. This new layout has a number of advantages when compared with conventional container ship designs.

One major advantage is increased visibility. IMO rules require that a minimum of 500m of the water’s surface forward of the bow must be visible from the bridge. These rules limit the deck capacity of a conventional container ship, as the view forward must not be obstructed by containers. By relocating the bridge superstructure further forward, visibility is improved, and as the bridge moves forward, so capacity increases. There is no visibility requirement directly aft of the bridge, which means that extra tiers of containers can be loaded on deck.

MSC Oscar has a U shaped double hull design in order to maximise underdeck container capacity. When the vessel was ordered it was specified with a capacity of 18,400 teu, but during the construction phase its capacity was increased. This was achieved by applying the DNV GL RSCS (Route Specific Container Stowage) class notation rules, which allow the loading of additional tiers of containers on deck when the trading on routes with benign weather conditions.

The bridge and accommodation superstructure is located at order to maximise underdeck container capacity. When the vessel was ordered it was specified with a capacity of 18,400 teu, but during the 

DNV GL states that the benefits of the RSCS notation are:

• greater flexibility to stow heavier containers in higher positions;
• a significant increase in stack weight in holds of 20ft stowage;
• larger nominal capacity at the outer stacks and a further tier on top;
• more efficient planning, making it easier to consider short notice requests;
• more efficient loading (eg fewer movements of the gantry crane);
• improved profits thanks to the option of loading more laden containers per voyage; and
• an easy and convenient implementation procedure for ships in operation and newbuildings.

MSC Oscar is fitted with three tier-high lashing bridges allowing up to 10 tiers of containers to be loaded from the bay just forward of the bridge to the last aft bay.

Another benefit of moving the superstructure further forward is the creation of space under it. This extra space is used for the fuel oil tanks. This gives the tanks the benefit of double hull protection, without losing valuable cargo space, and gives the vessel an effective range of 26,300 nautical miles.

MSC Oscar’s main propulsion unit is a single super long stroke, 11 cylinder MAN B&W S90ME-C10.2 unit rated at 62,500kW at 82.2 rpm. It is electronically controlled and is designed so that fuel consumption can be controlled automatically, accounting for both speed and weather conditions. System flexibility is obtained by means of different engine running modes, which can be selected automatically, according to operating conditions, or manually by the operator to meet specific goals. The basic running mode is fuel economy mode, which complies with the latest IMO NOx emissions limitations.

The ME-C engine has a length of 25m, a height of 15.5m and a breadth of 11m. It is well suited to container vessels that have smaller enginerooms as it is the shorter more compact version of the larger MCE engine.

MSC Oscar is equipped with a host of fuel saving and environmentally friendly technology features that, according to Mr Aponte, make it “the most efficient vessel on the planet.” It is able to carry 35 per cent more cargo while reducing CO2 emissions by the same percentage.

Along with a number of other MSC vessels, a special fuel saving antifouling paint from Norwegian coatings manufacturer Jotun has been applied to the outer hull. The company chose Jotun’s SeaQuantum X200 coating after successful trials showed reductions in bunker consumption. With its ultra-low friction and antifouling properties, the coating is designed to maximise hull performance under water and reduce fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It is understood that approximately 60 per cent of MSC’s fleet of 500 ships are coated with Jotun products, and both companies have been working together for over 20 years. See pages pages 40-41.

MSC Oscar is deployed on MSC’s Albatross Asia–North Europe service as part of the 2M alliance with Maersk Line. The service has the following port rotation: Dalian, Busan, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Tangier- Med, and Algeciras.

MSC Oscar has a maximum crew complement of 35 which includes space for additional Suez pilots.