The delivery of the Balticborg represents the first stage in the re-tonnaging of Kappa's weekly  service, connecting its Swedish base at Pitea via the port of Haraholmen to Bremen (Germany), Terneuzen (Netherlands) and Sheerness (UK). The cargo carried southbound is entirely made up of breakbulk paper and linerboard reels positioned by forklift truck.

However, in order to avoid an empty leg for the return voyage, northbound capacity will be available commercially and is to be marketed under the name of RoR02Stockholm. 

This will provide shippers with a new ro-ro service between Terneuzen and the 
port of Sodertalje, near Stockholm, Sweden. This service is expected to begin operations on delivery of the second ship, Bothniaborg, in November this year, when a fixed-day weekly service will be able to be offered.

Ready for the worst winter weather.

Because of their regular trading patterns in the Baltic Sea the ships have been designed with ice navigation in mind and for this reason the hulls have been constructed to Bureau Veritas ice class 1A. As a 
result they will be robust enough to cope with almost any ice situation but, more importantly, they will benefit from reduced ice dues costs.

In addition to the hull strengthening, the ships are fitted with an ice horn to their Benes-designed rudder and feature sheltered mooring stations whilst their full width bridges are completely enclosed.

Extra 'winterisation' systems fitted by the owner are the positioning of the heavy fuel oil tanks away from the hull sides, these being heated with thermal heating oil provided by an Aalborg Wiesloch thermal oil installation. Extra heating systems are also provided in the engine room, machinery spaces and accommodation.

Furthermore, trace heating on all fuel piping is fitted whilst the entire length of the ramp serving the upper deck is also heated to ensure it remains ice-free during winter loading operations in Sweden.

Forward-looking design

The design of the new Wagenborg ships has been undertaken by the central Netherlands shipbuilding design and marketing organization, Conoship International, with Vuyk Engineering of
Rotterdam being employed as consultants during design and construction.

In order to reduce costs, Volharding decided to sub-contract construction of the hulls to Daewoo Mangalia shipyard in Romania, although all fitting out work has been undertaken at Harlingen.

Their overall appearance is similar to the latest generation of ro-ro paper carriers already in service in the Baltic trades for such operators as Finnlines and Transfennica, with accommodation and bridge forward providing excellent visibility and also protection for any cargo loaded on the weather deck that can be loaded higher, if stability allows, without falling foul of line of sight requirements.

This forward deckhouse provides a high standard of accommodation for a crew of twelve, comprising five double cabins for senior personnel and seven single cabins for junior officers and ratings. Further single cabins are provided for a pilot and as a spare while a six-berth Suez Canal crew cabin is also fitted. Some special attention has been given to crew welfare by 
way of a gymnasium and sauna positioned in a tweendeck space below the main accommodation block.

This tweendeck is also used to house two Munters
built hold de-humidification systems which maintain humidity levels for the vulner able paper cargo at between 50-55%. Hold ventilation is particularly important for ro-ro ships during port operations and in this case ventilation is provided by six Novenco 
axial-flow fans per hold providing 25 air changes per hour during loading operations. 

All control of the hold ventilation and de-humidification systems is undertaken in a central 'Cargo Control Station' situated on the main deck. From here, ballasting operations for anti-heeling purposes, provided by a Frank Mohn-fitted system, are also controlled. Another important feature now that the MARPOL  rules on sewage treatment are operational is the Hamworthy sewage treatment plant, also housed in this section of the ship.

Flexible cargo spaces

The Balticborg and Bothniaborg feature three cargo decks, providing total lane metres of 1,600m and a paper capacity of 8,600 tonnes. The main deck is accessed from the stem via a single ramp which is opened by hydraulic cylinders to a clear stem 
opening of 12.8m across and 5.8m high. This deck has the capacity to accommodate 49 12m trailers when the ship is not carrying its intended cargo of paper reels.

An open area beneath the funnels on the starboard side of the main deck gives direct access from the stem ramp to the open upper deck which is protected at the sides by fixed bulwarks. This area has capacity for a total of36 x 12m trailers. Access to the lower hold, which can load up to 24 trailers, is gained by opening a side hinged ramp cover on the main deck and utilising a three-piece ramp.

For service flexibility (particularly for northbound traffic), the new ships are also fitted with 
container lashing points to provide for a maximum container intake of 208 TEU. All cargo lashing on board feature Container Technics' latest lashing systems.

Stable, economic and manoeuvrable

Bad weather is an ever present danger to ro-ro ships operating in the North Sea with heavy rolling likely to cause cargo damage and in severe cases shifting of cargo leading to a risk of capsize. To reduce this risk, the new ships are each fitted with the Flume system of passive anti-rolling tanks. These are positioned in a large structure between the funnels positioned near the stem.

To provide simplicity in operation, a no-nonsense single machinery installation has been fitted to the ships rather than the more usual twin-screw propulsion systems fitted to this class of ro-ro carrier.

The system selected comprises a Wartsila 9L46 medium-speed main engine providing 9,400 kW at 500rpm, a Flender Navilus ice-class reduction gearbox and finally a Lips controllable-pitch propeller to provide a service speed of 16.5kt. Over the course of the l3-day round trip, the bunker requirement is a fairly economic 208 tonnes and the ships will take all bunkers on in one load.

Despite their single-screw configuration, the ships should prove to be highly manoeuvrable when entering or leaving port, thanks to two Wärtsila fixed pitch bowthrusters and a single stem thruster of 515kW each.

Electrical requirements, which are 
considerable on a ro-ro ship when in port due to their hold ventilation requirements, are provided by three MAN Stamford auxiliary engines with a power rating of 500kW together with a 1,000kw shaft generator provided by AVon Kaick.

Green credentials

Environmental considerations meet the latest requirements but include several additional features including the fitting of drains on deck which divert rain and sea water - which could have become
contaminated by ,oil from deck machinery - from the decks into tanks for filtering before being pumped overboard.

The ships have a connection which allows them to be powered from an electrical shore installation when in port, reducing air pollution from the auxiliary engines. This feature has appeared on a number of new ships recently, and some ports in Europe and the US are providing connection points.

Due to the restricted water depth in the trades in which these ships serve, the latest IMO water ballast management requirements are difficult to comply with using conventional methods.

Therefore the new vessels utilise the recently introduced 'Optimar' system, which uses hydroclones to remove particles from the water intake. Following this, ultra-violet light is used to destroy micro-organisms and bacteria.

According to the owners, a further advantage of this system is that no sediment is left in the ballast tanks after emptying.

The new Wagenborg duo follow the 2000-built Schieborg series of ro-ro carriers as the Delfzijl-based shipowners continues its 
expansion into ro-ro newbuildings. The latest vessels are expected to be followed by a further two similar ships which are due to replace a pair of 1980s built units, the order for which is understood to be about to be placed