Two new 20,000 dwt cement carriers on order in China will feature advanced MacGregor cement handling systems for autonomous, flexible, environmentally-friendly cargo operations at high handling rates

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured an order with Shanhaiguan New Shipbuilding Industry in China for advanced bulk-handling systems for a pair of 20,000 dwt cement carriers on order for Singapore based Associated Bulk Carriers (ABC) which is a fully owned subsidiary of  dry cargo shipowner Precious Shipping PCL, Thailand.

Precious Shipping operates in the small Handy-size sector of the tramp freight market. The identical sisterships will be equipped with MacGregor cement self-unloading/loading systems combining mechanical and pneumatic technologies to deliver a self-unloading rate up to 1000 t/h with pneumatic discharge system or 2x250t/h with discharging directly to on shore cement trucks and a self-loading rate up to 1000 t/h for both pneumatic and mechanical loading systems.

Equipment for the first vessel is scheduled to be delivered this summer with the second following later in the year; the order also includes an option for a third system.

“As well as being environmentally-friendly, the MacGregor systems will offer a flexible, reliable and efficient approach to dry bulk transfer,” says Anders Berencsy, Sales Manager, Selfunloading systems. “They will give the vessels the ability to use almost any port facility. This level of versatility was one of the main reasons for choosing our system.

“We presented our cement carrier concept and demonstrated how its totally-enclosed technology could make significant savings for Precious Shipping, by delivering flexible, highly-efficient discharge operations.”

He continues: “One of the critical factors when handling cement is avoiding water ingress. MacGregor’s totally-enclosed system eliminates the risk of water penetration; it is ideal for the South East Asian climate, subject to the problems associated with Monsoon rains and high humidity.

“Our continuous loading/unloading systems are designed to provide dust-free bulk cargo transfer, which is a major environmental requirement in almost all locations. Dust emissions are further curbed by a totally-enclosed conveyor system equipped with dust collectors.

“We can deliver our self-loading/unloading systems as dedicated cement-handling systems, as in this case. We have a range of self-unloading technologies, including gravity-type systems, for materials such as coal, iron ore and aggregates,” he adds.