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CMA CGM ''Benjamin Franklin'' is an
Explorer class containership built for
CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France The name ...
. Delivered in November 2015,
[Cox, Martin.]
Benjamin Franklin gets Hollywood Welcome
''Maritime Matters'', December 27, 2015 she is named after
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
, one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the Am ...
. She is one of the largest container cargo vessels, capable of carrying 18,000
TEU.
Routes
The December 26, 2015 arrival at the
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...
marked the first time a ship of this size had been used in North America - previous routes for a ship this large were only from Asia to Northern Europe. ''Benjamin Franklin'' is about a third larger than the biggest container ships that typically visit the deep water ports of southern California. After departing Long Beach, she traveled north along the West Coast of the United States, arriving at the
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...
near San Francisco on December 31, and at the
Port of Seattle
The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...
on February 29, 2016. The U.S. tour was short-lived, however, as CMA CGM postponed deployment of megaships to the West Coast in May 2016, citing a lack of demand.
In regard to U.S. port infrastructure, Marc Bourdon, president of
CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France The name ...
American operations, states that while some ports are ready, most ports would have difficulty with such a large ship, and that ports would need to be modified before permanent large-scale implementation could commence. One such necessary modification is for the terminal cranes to be able to reach containers stacked to the full capacity of 10 high.
Engine
The ''Benjamin Franklin'' is propelled by a MAN B&W 11S90ME-C9.2, a low speed,
two-stroke diesel engine
A two-stroke diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses compression ignition, with a two-stroke combustion cycle. It was invented by Hugo Güldner in 1899.Mau (1984) p.7
In compression ignition, air is first compressed and heated; ...
. The MAN B&W 11S90ME-C9.2 was designed in house by
MAN B&W
MAN Diesel SE was a German manufacturer of large-bore diesel engines for marine propulsion systems and power plant applications. In 2010 it was merged with MAN Turbo to form MAN Diesel & Turbo.
History
* In 1980, MAN acquired the Burmeister & Wa ...
with the goals of the lowest possible operational costs and fuel consumption at any load and any prevailing condition. MAN B&W ME engines have design and performance characteristics in order to comply with
International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
Tier II emission regulations.
Concept of engine control system
This engine has electronic hydraulic activation in order to increase flexibility with regard to fuel injection and exhaust valve activation. These two factors are adjusted in order to match operating conditions that a ship may be under. This electronic control of the start to finish of the combustion process is known as the Engine Control System. Fuel injection controls the speed in which the engine will be operating at, while the exhaust valves control the exit of combustion gases from the cylinder. The actuators for fuel injection and the exhaust valves are electronically controlled by the Engine Control System. For fuel injection, a plunger powered by a hydraulic piston is started with oil pressure. Oil pressure is regulated by a valve that is electronically controlled through the Engine Control System. Exhaust valves are opened by a two-stage exhaust valve actuator which is activated by oil delivered from an electronically controlled valve. By controlling these valves electronically, the combustion process is fully controlled by the Engine Control System.
Intake and exhaust air
Cylinder
The frame of the cylinder is cast and fitted with access covers for the routine cleaning of the scavenge ports on the cylinder liner, a unique characteristic of two-stroke engines. The cylinder liner is produced with alloyed cast iron and contains scavenge ports as well as drilled holes for lubrication.
Scavenge air system
Air intake takes directly from the engine room to the
turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
fitted to the engines. From the turbocharger, air is sent to be cooled through a sea water cooler then stored in a scavenge air receiver. This air is then sent to the scavenge ports on the cylinder liners.
Exhaust gas system
Exhaust from the exhaust valves are sent to a receiver to equalize the different pressures produced from each cylinder. The exhaust gases are then sent through turbochargers.
Environmental initiatives
The CMA CGM ''Benjamin Franklin'' was designed to meet CMA CGM's goals of a sustainable policy that aims to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
and the protection of biodiversity. CMA CGM was able to improve its
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
emissions by 50% since 2005.
Limited greenhouse gas emissions
*Through the electronically controlled fuel injection with the MAN B&W's Engine Control System, the consumption of fuel has been reduced by 3% and oil by 25% on average.
*At low loads, the main engine utilizes an exhaust by-pass system that improves energy efficiency through slow-steaming. When used at slow speeds, fuel consumption is reduced by an average of 1.5%
*Benjamin Franklin's hydrodynamics, or water flow, is improved with the addition of a
bulbous
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs durin ...
shape on the rudder. This variation of the rudder, known as a twisting leading edge
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
, optimizes energy performance by 4%.
Biodiversity preservation
*
Ballast water
Ballast is used in ships to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the hull. Insufficiently ballasted boats tend to tip or heel excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the vessel capsizing. If a sailing vessel needs to vo ...
onboard the CMA CGM ''Benjamin Franklin'' is treated directly when pumped on board and again during ballast operations. The ballast water is filtered and passed under UV lamps in order to detect any living organisms. These living organisms are then killed in order to prevent these species from invading natural habitats. There are no chemical products ejected back into the sea with the ''Benjamin Franklin''’s ballast system.
*For additional treatment of
bilge
The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull.
Internally, the bilges (us ...
,
grey water
Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater fro ...
, and engine water, the ''Benjamin Franklin'' is fitted with an additional
decanting tank. This decanting tank is able to separate water from undesirable liquids, by letting all of the liquids settle. The waste products in the liquids are then removed and the remaining liquid is sent for further filtering.
*The ''Benjamin Franklin'' is fitted with CMA CGM's Fast Oil Recovery System, which is used to manage pollution on board the vessel.
Issues of vessel size
Vessel size transformation
The initial deployment of large container ships was seen in the Asia-Europe trade. In the second half of 2010, the vessels in service with Maersk Line's Asia-Europe trade were 8,500 TEU. By 2013, the vessels in service for the
Maersk Line
Maersk Line or Maersk SeaLand is a Danish international container shipping company and the largest operating subsidiary of the Maersk Group, a Danish business conglomerate. Founded in 1928, it is the world's largest container shipping company by ...
's Asia-Europe trade increased to 18,000 TEU vessels. Until the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin berthed in the Port of Los Angeles in late 2015, nearly all of the world's largest container ship (18,000+ TEU) were deployed in the Asia-Europe trade. However, 10,000+ TEU vessels represent only 10% of the total global fleet. In comparison, Maersk's Asia-Pacific trade vessels increased from 8,600 TEU to 9,400 TEU in August 2013.
U.S. ports
The average vessel size for U.S. port calls as of 2015 is less than 6000 TEU. However recently in 2016, container ships sizing from 12,000-14,000 TEU have been calling to U.S. ports in California. Notably, the CMA CGM ''Benjamin Franklin'' is the largest vessel to ever call to a U.S port. The Federal Maritime Commission has recognized the trend in increasing vessels size and U.S. ports have begun preparation in anticipation of the increased arrival of larger vessels. Major ports in the United States have begun
dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
for 50 ft berth/channel depths and heightening their crane fleets in order to accommodate the arrival of larger vessels
References
External links
''Benjamin Franklin'' is one massive container ship that will start carrying cargo from May 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
2015 ships
Ships named for Founding Fathers of the United States