''Chicago Express'' is a container ship for the
Hapag Lloyd Container Line, and is one of eight in the
''Colombo Express'' class.
Hull and engine
The ''Chicago Express'' is a
fully cellular container ship
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
built in 2006 by
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., in
Ulsan, South Korea. Her
gross tonnage
Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...
is 91,020, her
net tonnage
Net tonnage (NT, N.T. or nt) is a dimensionless index calculated from the total moulded volume of the ship's cargo spaces by using a mathematical formula. Defined in ''The International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships'' that was adopte ...
is 100,000, and her
deadweight is 103,890. She is long and is at the beam.
Her draught is 12.4 m (41 ft), her
draft
Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
is 12.4 m (41 ft), her depth is 24.6 m (81 ft). The ''Chicago Express'' has a TEU capacity of 8749, with plugs for 730 reefer containers.
[
The ''Chicago Express'' is powered by Kawasaki-]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 & Wain ...
12K98ME. These engines are two stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
and have twelve cylinders. The engine turns a single screw or one propeller
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
which is tunnel thruster design. The engine can produce 68,640 kW (92,050 horsepower) of power.
Training role
The ''Chicago Express'' is not only a cargo ship, but also a training ship. On September 5, 2006, eight nautical officer cadets stepped on board the ''Chicago Express'' in order to get real-life training and progress their future in the industry. In October, the ship also welcomed aboard seven mechanic apprentices. The cadets sailed with the ''Chicago Express'' for one year to fulfill their training requirement.
Fatal design flaw
In September 2008, the ''Chicago Express'' was sailing out of Hong Kong when it ran into a typhoon. The resulting storm initially caused the ship to go in a parametric roll, in which the ship rocked side to side 32 degrees. To decrease this effect, the ship master was able to change direction of the ship and brought the rolls down to 20 degrees. The ship encountered a sudden wave which made the ship list at 44 degrees for 10 seconds. Everyone on the bridge was "catapulted across the bridge", the report said, except the second officer. A Filipino AB on the bridge succumbed to his wounds sustained during the incident and was pronounced dead, while the master was airlifted to Hong Kong for treatment of serious injuries.
Illegal cargo
The ''Chicago Express'' was caught up in a shipping scandal in a port in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
. Officials found a banned sweet that caused the deaths of four children earlier in the year in a couple of containers from the ship. This gave the officials probable cause to search the rest of the ship's cargo, in which they also found illegally imported goods such as 20,000 cigarettes, shrimp paste, condensed milk and beef jerky. The companies that tried to import the illegal goods got a notice for the destruction of the goods and Customs and Excise was set to charge them for the service.[Author unknown, 3 September 2008, Article 1]
References
{{Reflist
External links
Hapag-Lloyd Corporate Website
2005 ships
Chicago express
The Chicago Express were a professional ice hockey team located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, serving the Chicago market. The Express were a member of the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The team played its home games at the ...