BASF, Stolt offer low water barge

WHEN THE RIVER RUNS LOW

INLAND WATERWAYS • COPING WITH LOW WATER LEVELS MEANS ADOPTING NEW IDEAS. BASF HAS BROUGHT IN STOLT TANKERS TO COME UP WITH A WAY TO CARRY ON TRADING

RECENT PROBLEMS ON the Rhine system due to periods of low water have prompted BASF, which uses tank barges to transport some of the output from its massive Ludwigshafen plant on the banks of the river, to look at ways to overcome the issue. One outcome of that review is the commissioning of Stolt Tankers to help design and build an innovative new tanker that can operate at extreme low water levels.

Stolt Tankers has come up with a design for a 2,500-tonne capacity tank barge, twice the size of conventional inland vessels; more importantly for the task in hand, the new barge will still be able to pass the critical point in the Rhine near Kaub while carrying 650 tonnes of cargo even at a water depth of 1.60 metres. The new tank barge will be built by Mercurius Shipping for delivery in 2022, after which it will be operated by Stolt Tankers exclusively for BASF.

“This exciting partnership with BASF supports our commitment to working with other industry leaders to develop new technologies and ship designs for a greener maritime industry,” says Lucas Vos, president of Stolt Tankers. “This innovative inland tanker is designed with a unique draft and will set a new mark for the transport of cargo on the River Rhine, especially when water levels are low, keeping products moving even when river levels are becoming more unpredictable. We have a long history of working closely with customers to create solutions that help them adapt in a constantly changing environment and this project showcases our team’s unrivalled experience, gained over 60 years, in building the most innovative ships in the market.”

PREPARE FOR THE WORST “Following our experience with the low water levels of the Rhine in 2018 and based on our assessment that such events may occur more frequently in the future, we have taken a whole range of measures at the Ludwigshafen site to increase the security of supply for production,” says Dr Uwe Liebelt of BASF’s European Site and Verbund Management. “An important element of our considerations was to have a ship that can still reliably transport substantial quantities even at the lowest Rhine levels.”

The main objective for the development of the new ship was to provide a high loadbearing capacity coupled with a shallow draught, ensuring safe operations and full manoeuvrability at all times, even in extremely low water. Stolt Tankers says this is just one example of the sustainable innovations it is continuing to develop with its partners across the industry.

The dimensions of the new ship are 135 metres by 17.5 metres, which is considerably larger than the standard tankers on the Rhine, which are usually 110 metres by 11.5 metres. In order to achieve a high load-bearing capacity with these ship dimensions, a hydrodynamically optimised hull with an adapted propulsion was developed. The construction is lightweight, with high structural stability ensured by applying methods from seagoing shipbuilding, maximising cargo carrying capacity.

The ship is powered by three electric motors, which are fed by highly efficient diesel generators of the latest generation with exhaust gas after-treatment. The ship is equipped with ten stainless steel tanks and three separate loading systems offering maximum flexibility of the chemical products it is able to transport. www.stolt-nielsen.com

STOLT TANKERS’ DESIGN IS LARGER THAN

THE STANDARD RHINE TANK BARGE