Germany's BBC Chartering formally named its newest vessel in a ceremony in Houston, Texas, on Monday, September 23. BBC Houston is a sister ship of BBC Leer and BBC Genoa, which were handed over earlier this year.
The 13,000DWT vessel will be operated by BBC Chartering while ownership will remain with the Briese Group. Construction took place at Taizhou Sanfu Heavy Industry in China.
The vessel belongs to a series of 15 triple-deck ships built to transport heavy lift and project cargo. The ship's two cargo holds are box-shaped and offer room for almost 26,000 cubic metres of cargo on a floor space of close to 5,000 square metres, when two tween decks are in operation.
The bridge and the crew accommodation spaces are located at the front of the ship, while two cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 500 tonnes are located portside. This allows for an unobstructed 2,830 square metres of space on the weather deck.
The vessels are certified to operate with open hatches. Whilst intended for worldwide trading, the design of the BBC vessels has been optimised to still fit both the St Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes.