ESL Shipping frees up cash to fund green transition

Finland-based shipping company ESL Shipping has completed the sale of two Supramax vessels to support its journey towards green shipping.

The vessels, Arkadia and Kumpula, were sold to companies belonging to the Turkish shipping and logistics group HGF Denizcilik Limited Sirket. The sale price was $37.1 million.

The sale of Supramax vessels is said to be in line with ESL Shipping’s strategy to concentrate on developing its partnership strategy with current and future customers, focusing on Handysize and Coaster vessels.

“The sale will support our roadmap towards green shipping and our ambition to bring fossil-free handysize vessels to the market. The sale enables us to allocate even more resources to accelerate the green transition,” Mikki Koskinen, Managing Director of ESL Shipping, commented.

The 1A ice-strengthened, 56,000 dwt Supramax vessels Arkadia and Kumpula were delivered to ESL Shipping in 2012. The length of the vessels is 197 meters and the maximum draft with a full cargo is 13.0 meters. Both vessels have sailed under the Finnish flag.

AtoB@C Shipping, a subsidiary of ESL Shipping, recently welcomed its first plug-in hybrid newbuilding Electramar. The 5,400 general cargo vessel arrived in Luleå, Sweden, in mid-April.

The newbuilding was christened in Helsinki last month.

The Finnish company aims to reduce its emission intensity per ton-mile by 50% by 2023 and achieve net zero operations by 2040.