Construction starts on Finnlines’ hybrid RoRo vessel

The construction of Finnlines’ newest environmentally friendly roll-on/roll off (RoRo) vessel commenced on 8 June 2020 with the steel cutting ceremony in the Chinese Nanjing Jinling shipyard.

Finnlines, a Finnish shipping company and part of the Italian Grimaldi Group, had placed an order for three 17,400 dwt RoRo ultra-large green vessels in 2018.

All three vessels will be built with the latest technology available to ensure the lowest CO2 emissions, according to the company. In addition to lithium-ion battery systems that enable zero-emission operations in port, the ships will be equipped with efficient engines, emission abatement systems and an innovative air lubrication system to reduce hull resistance.

Intended for operation in the Baltic Sea, the vessels will have the highest Finnish/Swedish ice class.

The first RoRo newbuild is expected to start operation as early as next year, and the other two in 2022.

Once completed, the hybrid RoRos will feature a length of 238 metres and a breadth of 34 metres. They will have a cargo capacity of 5,800 lane metres and 5,600 square metres of car decks as well as about 300 TEU on weather deck.

In addition to this, Finnlines also ordered two giant Superstar vessels. The total investment including five new vessels is EUR 500 million.

“The new vessels will modernize our fleet further and offer us the lowest possible fuel consumption and emissions… We continue our successful track record in investing sustainable operation of our fleet,” Emanuele Grimaldi, CEO of Finnlines, commented.