Jinling Shipyard selected to build ESL’s revolutionary bulkers

ESL Shipping and Sinotrans & CSC Shipbuilding Industry Corporation have agreed to assign building of ESL’s revolutionary LNG-fuelled bulk carriers to Sinotrans & CSC’s main yard, Jinling Shipyard, located in Nanjing, China.

The two new, ice-class 1A ships will be the first LNG-fuelled large bulk carriers in the world, with the owner claiming CO2 emissions per ton of cargo transported will be reduced by more than 50% in comparison to present vessels. The new ships will start operating in the Baltic Sea during first half of 2018.

The ships will used to shift Scandinavian steel company SSAB’s inbound raw material needs within the Baltic Sea and from the North Sea in a deal estimated to carry 6–7 million tons annually.

The ships are costing a total of EUR60m with Finnish designer Deltamarin onboard for the project.