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Containerships to order dual fuel vessels

[ May 12, 2014   //   ]

Intra-European and Baltic short-sea line Containerships has ordered two dual-fuel engined ships, capable of using either liquefied natural gas (LNG) or conventional marine diesel oil or heavy fuel.

They will be delivered during 2016, with Containerships chartering the ships from owner and technical manager GNS Shipping/Nordic Hamburg, with Arkon acting as commercial manager and charter broker.

The ships will help the operator meet new sulphur emission limits in the Channel and North Sea, but without the higher cost of gas oil and will also reduce CO2 emissions by 25%. They will be used on all Cotainerships’ Baltic Sea routes.

Each ship will have a capacity of up to 639 45-foot containers and a total capacity of 1,400teu, including up to 300 refrigerated containers. The generators and refrigeration system will also be dual-fuel.

Containerships CEO, Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, said: “We are a short-sea operator that is in it for the long haul—and these state-of-the art ships are just one part of our long-term strategy. In addition to offering the most ecologically sustainable solution, the intake capacity of these ships will allow us to keep meeting growing customer demand.”

Containerships’ move follows ro ro operator brittany Ferries announcement earlier this year that it will introduce a dual fuel vessel on its UK/Northern Spain route in late Spring 2017 (FBJ 1 2014, p1). This and Containerships’ have been promoted by the new sulphur emission limits that will go into operation from 1 January, forcing operators to either buy new vessels or convert existing ones with ‘scrubber’ technology.

The new limits were also cited by DFDS in its recent decision to DFDS is to close its ro ro route between Harwich and Esbjerg on 29 September.

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