Wagenborg Shipping chooses Bureau Veritas for a unique 1,700 teu, open-hatch containership at the IHC yard in Holland, built to BV class. Innovative vessel designs and using sophisticated software tools are ordered in this project.

Egbert Vuursteen, CEO of Wagenborg, explains, ¡ˇăContainer feeder traffic is increasing worldwide, and particularly within Europe and the Baltic region. With this in mind, Wagenborg decided to develop a versatile, dedicated container feeder vessel with maximum teu capacity. The vessel is capable of achieving a high intake of boxes at an extremely low draft.

¡ˇăThe hatchless design ensures a fast turnaround time in port, and the vessel¡¯s twin-engine propulsion gives it maximum flexibility in terms of speed and fuel consumption while guaranteeing optimum efficiency and economy. The vessel¡¯s hull shape, propulsion and ice-strengthened structure provide excellent sea keeping and ice trading capabilities.¡ˇŔ

The agreement between Wagenborg and IHC provides for an option to build other vessels, depending on how the prototype is received by the market.

Wagenborg currently operates a fleet of about 150 vessels, most of them flexible multipurpose ships ranging in size from 1,500 to 20,000 deadweight tones. The company also manages six dedicated ro-ro vessels for major Scandinavian principals, and four cellular container vessels in the Far East. Between eighty and ninety percent of the Wagenborg fleet is classed with Bureau Veritas.

Egbert Vuursteen says, ¡ˇăThere has been a very strong relationship between Wagenborg and Bureau Veritas for a number of decades. Wagenborg understands the value of long-term relationships with its clients as well as it suppliers. Quality, trust and competitiveness form the basis of such relationships, and this is particularly the case with Wagenborg and BV. Quality, flexibility and reliability are the core competencies of Wagenborg. Not surprisingly, we look for partners in shipping who have the same qualities. ¡ˇŔ