MARINE

COMPOSITE CARGO DECKS FOR A 7000-CAR CARRIER VESSEL

Uljanik JSC (Croatia)

In July 2017, Uljanik Group delivered the SIEM Cicerocar carrier vessel featuring several composite structures in the cargo decks. The major novelty is that the three uppermost decks, in a 13-deck vessel, are constructed from GRP sandwich panels, saving considerable weight high up in the ship and reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

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Compared to traditional steel decks, the weight savings for the Uljanik-designed decks is 25% (200 tons), at equal production cost. Pure car/truck carriers (PCTCs) of this type usually incorporate ballast to counteract their high centre of gravity in order to fulfil stability requirements. So, reducing structural weight high up in the ship provides a double benefit. The result is a 4.5% lower fuel consumption or an increased payload (up to 800 tons).

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In the innovative deck structure design, the composite structure is used for decks 10, 11 and 12, covering a total area of 12,600m².

The structure arrangement consists of steel supporting grillage and 1043 composite sandwich panels (vacuum-infused GRP panels with a PVC core). The laminates are made of glass fibre-reinforced polyester with a fibre content of about 74% by weight. The core consists of two densities of PVC. Each panel has 22 lashing holes to secure the cargo during operation at sea. The composite panels are fastened to the supporting structure by a flexible bolt connection.