Ferus Smit to build LNG fueled dry cargo ship

FEBRUARY 18, 2014 — Lidköping, Sweden, headquartered Erik Thun A.B. has placed an order with shipbuilder Ferus Smit for an LNG powered cargo vessel. The order includes options for two more units and the first vessel is scheduled for 2015 delivery from the Ferus Smit shipyard in Westerbroek, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Thun has a strong market position in Northern Europe and the Baltic area and, with the new SECA rules coming into force in 2015 for the Baltic, believes LNG fueling will be the way forward.

Ferus Smit says it is a “great challenge to build the first LNG powered short-sea dry cargo vessels to date” and comments that although many concepts and studies have been around in the market, it will be down to the long-term cooperation between shipyard and shipowner to work out viable solutions that can be profitable in daily use.

The vessels will be equipped with a Wärtsilä dual fuel main engine and an internal cylindrical pressurized LNG tank of abt. 112.5 cu.m, enabling round trips of abt. two weeks.

With a length OA of 90 m and beam of 14.5 m, the ships will be 5,800 dwt bulk oriented general cargo vessels with a single hold, closed by pontoon hatches and full double hull, with the option to convert them into self-unloaders. They will be built to iceclass 1A and suitable for year-round Baltic service.

They will be built to Ferus Smit’s ECO vertical bow design with an icebreaking bulb. The special bow form with a vertical stem profile, sharp waterlines and less bow flare provides optimal performance on flat water while significantly reducing speed loss in seaway. The slender bulb enhances ice breaking performance outside the broken ice channels.