MacGregor Secures Big Order from HHI

MacGregor believes it is time to think differently, overturning the long-held assumption that cargo profile, cargo handling and cargo securing are considered only at the end of the main ship design process

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has received further orders, worth around USD 50 million, for optimized cargo handling systems from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd in South Korea. The latest contract stems from the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) exercising its options for six more A-14-series and one more A-18-series container vessels from the yard, taking the total number of 14,500 TEU container ships to eleven and 18,800 TEU container ships to six. The original order, announced in November 2013, saw UASC order five A-14-series and five A-18-series container vessels. The vessels are on a rolling schedule of deliveries that starts this year and continues into 2016.

All the container ships will feature optimized MacGregor cargo handling solutions designed to maximise their cargo carrying capability and operational efficiency. The MacGregor cargo handling system comprises hatch covers, a comprehensive lashing system and the product software, Lashmate(TM). A five-year extended MacGregor Onboard Care (MOC) agreement and a five-year operation guarantee are included in the contract.

"To meet our customer's exact requirements and to maximize the vessels' efficiency and earning potential, MacGregor's specialist solutions business model has been applied to this order," says Ari Viitanen, Director, MacGregor Customer Solutions. "This approach secures our early involvement in the ship specification phase, which is essential from the cargo system productivity point of view."

He adds: "The advantages offered by our solutions approach are not limited to newbuilding projects; they can also be delivered through retrofit projects for existing individual vessels or fleets."