German shipowner John T. Essberger Group has signed final agreements with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Dingheng Co. Ltd to build four 6,600 dwt stainless steel parcel chemical tankers with options for an additional four vessels.
As informed, the stainless steel tankers, IMO Type II, will all have dual-fuel LNG propulsion and certified Finnish/Swedish 1A ice class.
The new vessels will be optimized in terms of hull design and equipment, resulting in a significantly improved energy efficiency of at least 30% and the ability of using shore power connection during cargo operations, according to the company.
The newbuildings are expected to be delivered from mid-2023 and will be operated by E&S Tankers to initiate the fleet renewal.
Last year, John T. Essberger Group entered into the joint venture, E&S Tankers, with Stolt Tankers to operate their combined parcel tanker fleets trading within Europe.
The Essberger fleet currently consists of 34 parcel chemical tankers operating in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean seas, all under E&S Tankers activity, as well as four container vessels.
The newbuilding project is being subsidized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure as part of the implementation of the German government’s Mobility and Fuel Strategy (MKS) with a total of EUR 1.58 million per vessel. The funding measure is coordinated by NOW GmbH.
Separately, marine engineering company FKAB Marine Design said it has been appointed by John T. Essberger as owners designer from the first concept to the final product.
FKAB pointed out that focus will be on low environmental impact, high flexibility and very low fuel consumption. The propulsion system is a single screw DF main engine, designed with full battery / UPS power, preventing from black outs.