The new design is "based on extensive research and development work to establish the best-in-class design in terms of cargo capacity, flexibility and fuel economy," says Deltamarin. "It provides a flexible platform for a whole series of designs, which can be adapted to various customers’ requirements as a result of several optional feature studies."

The development work has been supported by AVIC Weihai Shipyard in terms of construction friendliness, and has been reviewed and commented on by DNV GL considering the application of the latest rules and industry practices. “The overall efficiency and flexibility of this container vessel design provides the owners and operators with a solution for future transportation needs,” said Vesa Hamarila, Sales Director of Deltamarin.

The A.Delta2300 provides a container capacity of 2322 TEU in five cargo holds and on deck. The increased cargo hold breadth improves stability in the fully laden condition. Together with the ballast-free approach, this results in an increased utilisation rate of about 73% (1700 TEU) of nominal container intake in homogeneous loading condition at scantling draught carrying a 14t TEU container. Furthermore, intake can be optimised to a specific cargo profile and even further improved by considering route-specific loading.

The flexibility of the A.Delta2300 allows pallet-wide container stowage as well as three tiers of high cube containers in the cargo hold without losing container slots. Additionally, a high number of reefer plugs allows "smart" stowage and the reduction of unnecessary container movements. These features provide efficient and fluent stowage, which reduces time and costs.

The hull form has been designed to ensure low resistance combined with high propulsion efficiency. This included dozens of CFD calculations and three series of model tests at the Hamburg Ship Model Basin (HSVA). As a result, the vessel requires only low power at the design speed compared to present reference designs.

Daily main engine fuel oil consumption is decreased to 42 t/day at a 19-knot service speed resulting in superior fuel efficiency of 0.033 t/TEU/day. A very low deadweight per TEU ratio of less than 16dwt /14t TEU is thus achieved, which is commonly gained only in larger container ships. This efficiency decreases the EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) value to around 37% less than the IMO reference line complying with Phase 3, which enters into force in 2025.

Optional features include LNG readiness, a flexible number of reefer plugs, shaft generator PTO/PTI, scrubber/SCR implementation and gearless design as well as several ice classes. Furthermore, stretched derivative designs are available, the A.Delta2500 and A.Delta2600.

The main particulars are:

• Length overall 188.60m
• Beam 30.95m
• Draught design 8.75m
• Draught scantling 10.00m
• Capacity @ 14t – 1700 TEU
• Reefer plugs – 500
• DWT 26,580t
• Service speed (15% s.m.) 19 knots