MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has designed the cargo system for the world’s largest containership, MSC Gülsün, which was delivered in July 2019 by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries. She is 400m long, 61.5m wide and is the first in a series of 11 ultra-large containerships with a capacity of more than 23,000TEU. Six of the vessels are being built by Samsung Heavy Industries, and the other five by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
The system was developed in close collaboration with MSC from an early stage of the project. It fully meets MSC`s operational requirements while maximising the actual cargo intake. At the same time, it provides a great degree of flexibility for the cargo operations and planning process.
“This is an industry-leading cargo system, and the design of the system is very innovative,” says Atte Virta, Senior Naval Architect, MacGregor Cargo Handling. The cargo system design, combined with a 24 container wide ship design, takes MSC Gülsün’s total container capacity to 23,756TEU, which is 1,500TEUs more than the largest containerships have previously carried.
“By designing an entire cargo system in close collaboration with our customers, we can respond to the market and specific requirements in the best possible way,” says Magnus Sjöberg, Senior Vice President, MacGregor Cargo Handling.
“As our fleet grows and technology develops, we want to make sure that our strategic investments are focused on maximising the ship´s performance. Through our close cooperation with MacGregor we are able to develop new solutions that are of mutual benefit and help us to grow together,” says Giuseppe Gargiulo Head of Newbuildings, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.
MacGregor booked the orders for these vessels during 2018 and the first quarter of 2019. The parties have agreed not to disclose any further contractual details.