The Port of Hamburg was recently a meeting point of two workhorses owned by the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company S.A. (Chipolbrok). The 2009-built Adam Asnyk and the 2004-built Leopold Staff belonging to Chipolbrok’s Orkan class delivered project cargo and loaded more of it before heading to Asia. 

Adam Asnyk brought a load of project cargo from the Far East. Once the vessel was unloaded it loaded a new batch of project cargo before shifting to the Deufol Wallmann Terminal at Reiherstieg to take top-off loads. The ship started its journey eastbound from Antwerp to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and China. Once it returns to its home waters, it will undergo a longer stay at the shipyard for a re-fit. The extensive physical stress these ships endure as they travel around the world results in noticeable signs of wear on their structure.

The Leopold Staff also brought a consignment of project cargo to Hamburg before loading project cargo with units weighing up to 430 tons destined for Southeast Asia before heading to China for new assignments.

The Orkan class vessels are equipped with heavy-lift cranes each with a capacity of 320 tons, combineable to 640 tons. Other features include movable tween deck pontoons, a free weather deck of approximately 2,200 square meters, and a maximum hatch length of 31.60 meters. At the time of design, the ship was intended to have a service speed of up to 19.2 knots, a length of 200 meters, and a carrying capacity of approximately 30,300 DWT.

Chipolbrok’s fleet has since evolved and the company has recently taken delivery of the 68,000-dwt heavy-lift MPP Boym at the Jiangsu Taizhou Shipyard.

Boym is the latest addition to Chipolbrok’s fleet of six 62,000-ton MPP heavy-lift vessels, the largest of their kind in the world. With a deadweight tonnage of 62,000 tons, the ship measures 199.9 meters in length, 32.26 meters in width. Its four heavy-lift cranes, with a combined lifting capacity of 300 tons, enable it to handle various large machinery and project cargo.