ESL Shipping takes delivery of second LNG-fueled bulker

Finland’s ESL Shipping, an Aspo Group company, has taken delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled bulker Viikki from the Jinling shipyard in Nanjing, China.

Viikki is a sister ship to bulker Haaga that was delivered on August 20.

The 160-meter, LNG-fueled vessel of 25,600 dwt emits over 50 percent less carbon dioxide than the previous generation of vessels, according to ESL Shipping.

Like its sister ship Haaga, Viikki will first head from the shipyard to Japan, from where it will arrive fully laden at the Baltic Sea at the end of October.

The plan is that both vessels will travel to the Baltic Sea via the Northern Sea Route.

This shortens the travel time by nearly three weeks compared to the route via the Panama Canal and, therefore, significantly reduces the environmental impact of the trip, ESL Shipping said.

The use of the Northern Sea Route reduces emissions by more than 40 percent compared with going through the Panama Canal, it said.

The Northern Sea Route can only be used for roughly two months in early fall when it is free of ice.

This newbuilding project is part of the Bothnia Bulk project, partly funded by the EU. Its goal is to modernize the sea route between Luleå, Oxelösund and Raahe to be more eco-friendly.

The vessels have been designed by Deltamarin in Finland, and European equipment suppliers have provided roughly 60 percent of all vessel systems.