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WWL Adds New HERO Class Vessel

Themis

Published Jul 20, 2016 1:22 AM by The Maritime Executive

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has taken delivery of Themis, the fourth Neo-Panamax class RoRo the company has ordered from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea for entry into service between 2015 and 2017. 

Like her sister vessels, Theben, Thalatta and Thermopylae, Themis is almost 200 metres (656 feet) long, 36.5 metres (120 feet) wide and features five liftable car decks, allowing for multiple configurations and a wide variety of customer cargo. 

The vessel can transport up to 8,000 car equivalent units. With the new draft, she can call ports with shallower depths, increasing her geographical scope of service. 

The HERO class has been designed to support WWL’s zero damage cargo quality objective. During loading and unloading, a ship might be compared to a parking garage, and WWL wanted to ensure that maneuvering inside it would be as easy and risk-free as possible. To this end, the number of pillars in the ship has been limited, while their design is intended to be as non-obstructive as possible. Further, the width of the stern ramp has been extended from the standard seven to 12 meters to allow for more efficient and safer flow of traffic on and off the ship.

Themis is a High Efficiency RoRo (HERO) class vessel with a specially designed hull shape, rudder and bow to reduce drag and wave resistance, thus improving fuel efficiency. She is also fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system that reduces sulphur emissions to below 0.1 percent in compliance with ECA regulations and removes 70 percent of particulate matter. All HERO class vessels comply with the IMO’s guidelines on ship recycling.

On her maiden voyage, Themis’ first port of call was Yokohama, from where she is presently sailing with Bremerhaven as her final destination.

WWL’s ocean transportation business operates about 55 pure car and truck carriers on 12 routes to six continents. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has been preparing for the opening of the expanded canal since 2010 with the design of its next generation RoRo carriers.