Even uglier PCTC

1. Bess leaves Eastern Passage, and will turn around Indian Point and Ives Knoll to head for sea.

2. Her plumb bow is a feature rarely seen on modern ships.

3. A broadside view shows the shoebox-like proportions of the ship.

Pure Car and Truck carriers (PCTCs) are floating garages, and much effort has been expended on making them both hydroponically and aerodynamically efficient. Their great slab sides and blunt bows, have usually been softened by some rounded shapes and often a fairly graceful stem.

As the pressure increases to cram more and more cars aboard, the boundaries are again being pushed.

Today's arrival, Bess, built in 2010 and on long term charter to Wallenius-Wilhelmsen by Japanese owners, Excel Marine Co., has pushed another boundary for sure. Her perfectly vertical stem, is no doubt the result of intense study and computer modelling, but it is no thing of beauty! Even compared to the last posting of Capricornus Leader, she is a definitely a runner up in the pageant.

[As with all Wallenius vessels, it is named for an operatic character, in this case Bess of Porgy and Bess, a 20th century American opera, as opposed to a more classical European one.]