The Trans Sea Lifter (TSL) Profitable by Paradigm Shift
The patented TSL is a competitive barge carrier for short sea liner trades with a high throughput of goods. The TSL carries barges with 18.000 t of cargo or 1.800 TEU athwart ship on deck. These barges – strictly speaking: floatable modules of any type – are loaded and discharged by a fast float-on / float-off (Flo/Flo) process.
MarEx readers can watch a depiction of the proposed vessel’s cargo operations by clicking either link: www.TSLtec.com and www.youtube.com/transsealifter.
In the short sea feeder trade, voyage costs of the TSL are 20 - 47% lower than those of competing container ships of 1.800 - 400 TEU required for matching a single TSL's annual throughput.
NAVTEC is now looking for powerful partners who will build the first TSL and vigorously introduce the TSL into the market and for worldwide marketing of TSL Technology.
Principal Characteristics
• Length over all: 185,0 m
• Breadth at Water Line: 70,0 m (Suezmax)
• Cargo Platforms: 3 individually submersible
• Platform Size: 76,5 m x 32,6 m
• Sizes of Container Barges (TEU): 3 barges of 676 / 6 barges of 308 / 12 barges of 132
• Displacement: 41.840 m³
• Carrying Capacity: 18.000 t / ≈1.848 TEU in barges
• Propulsion Power: 45.000 kW @ 600 rpm
• Speed: 20,9 knots (at 72% MCR)
Innovative Features
A TSL exchanges a full load of inbound barges for outbound barges in 90 minutes.
The TSL System's barges' ability of handling cargo in austere coastal or inland ports or over a beach provides an extraordinarily versatile interface between water- and land-borne transports.
Barges optimized for all kinds of cargoes turn a TSL into a special carrier for as many different goods as it carries barges.
A TSL carries barges of a variety of types and sizes, from canal-going barges in the river-sea trade to individual barges with up to 6.000 t of cargo / ≈676 TEU in the short sea trade.
The TSL System's Mode of Operation
The TSL in regular liner service calls in anchorages off ports and inland waterways, drops off barges with inbound cargo, picks up waiting barges with outbound cargo, and thereafter steams on.
Tugs move inbound barges to their ports of destination for discharging and reloading. Synchronized with the TSL's schedule, the barges are returned to the anchorage for pick-up by the TSL.
In contrast thereto, conventional feeders enter port, berth, unload, repeat this cycle for loading, and require buffer time for coordinating with the arrival of container ships carrying onward cargo.
The TSL System's Competitiveness in the Feeder Trade
NAVTEC's 2008 economic analysis compares the TSL System (TSL including 3 sets of barges) vs. 5 sizes of 405 - 1.800 TEU container ships ('reference ships'). Yardstick of comparison is voyage costs per TEU over a reference distance of 500 naut. miles. The average fuel price (395 $/mt), ship prices, the reference ships' time charter rates ('TC rates') etc. are based on statistics of April 2007 - March 2008; corresponding data of the TSL System are detailed estimates for this period.
The yardstick of 'voyage costs at equal annual throughput' (w/o port-related costs) is based on $/TEU as a clearly defined unit and reflects the fact that it takes several of the reference ships to match a single TSL System's throughput during the same time span.
Applications of the TSL System
The TSL System's primary application is short sea shipping in both the feeder trade from hub ports and regional trades between secondary ports. The TSL's barges reconcile the distinct differences
of these trades regarding cargoes and schedules. Other exemplary applications are:
• Transport by barge of huge industrial plant modules directly to construction sites on rivers
• Linking third world countries to world trade by means of low-investment barge ports and TSL lines from there to hub ports on major sea lanes
• Special temporary deployment with mission-specific Flo/Flo modules, e.g. as naval support ships, or for disaster relief, e.g. floating medical centers along a Tsunami-stricken coast, etc.
Environmental Aspects
The TSL System is environmentally friendly: the TSL stays outside port, its barges in port draw minimal power (e.g. for lighting) from shore connections without exhaust gas emissions.
The TSL's most important contribution is shifting long-distance goods traffic from land to water by enabling a network of short sea and river-sea lines via many small coastal and inland ports.
TSL Technology: Clients' Benefits
Operation: Ship owners – competitive feeder trades with reliable schedules for goods of all kinds between hub ports and regional ports on the coast and on inland waterways.
Marketing:
Technology conglomerates – world-wide leadership in TSL Technology and exports
In Summary:
Low voyage costs per TEU and superior flexibility regarding cargo and port interface make the TSL System an outstanding tool for building profitable networks of short sea lines – and more.
For more information, contact:
4072619162, Bruce Fernandez / cell: 3213564320 / [email protected]