Germany: HeavyLift@Sea Presents MPV 500 Heavy Lifter

With the development and creation of the MPV 500, the maritime engineering specialist HeavyLift@Sea, with headquarters in Hamburg’s HafenCity, has now expanded its design family of extremely versatile heavy lifters.

The multi-purpose vessel is based on the HLV 1600 heavy lifter, which was introduced by the team working with company founder, Lars Rolner, and Managing Director, Hendrik Gröne, at the start of this year. As a smaller but equally versatile heavy cargo carrier, the MPV 500 targets an intermediate segment of the market: shipping companies that specialise in smaller-scale heavy cargo loads or are just starting up in the heavy lift segment. The basic design of the MPV 500 is available in three variations and can be individually configured based on customer needs.

“We have innovatively combined all of the essential requirements of a mid-sized heavy lifter in the MPV 500. We created a design which covers all the current demands for flexible use and maximum utilisation required by such specialized shipping companies, and which gives a totally new impulse to the market in this combination”, says HeavyLift@Sea Managing Director, Hendrik Gröne.

About the MPV 500

The MPV 500 has an undivided cargo area which is more than 80 metres long and has a capacity of nearly 20,000 cubic metres. This makes it equally suitable for the transport of particularly long freight items – e.g. wind turbine wings for offshore wind farms – as well as bulk cargo and containers. The cargo area can also be split by an intermediate deck. In addition, the ship can also sail with open hatches.

The plans for the heavy lifter include two cranes. The customer can select a lifting capacity which lies between 120 – 250 tonnes, enabling the ship to lift up to 500 tonnes in tandem. It can also make use of its total crane capacity in ballast (empty of cargo). The MPV 500 is 140.50 metres long, and with its width of only 23.20 metres, can pass through the narrow locks of the Saint Lawrence seaway. It has a load-bearing capacity of 12,000 tonnes and a maximum draught of 8.55 metres with a closed hatch, 7.50 metres with an open hatch. The living quarters can accommodate a crew of up to 21 persons.

“With this design, we focused on a fuel-optimised ship design with high efficiency”, explains Hendrik Gröne. “This includes the fact that the MPV 500 can be equipped with either a two-stroke or a four-stroke engine.” With its diesel drive, the heavy lifter can sail at 16 knots.

The MPV 500 is available in the designs Economy, Economy Extra, and Ice Class.

[mappress]

Press release, October 15, 2013; Image: heavyliftatsea