HGK Shipping’s future fuel-ready gas tanker gets Green Award certification

GAS 95, an environmentally-friendly diesel-electric gas tanker owned by inland waterway shipping company HGK Shipping, has received the Green Award in Gold certification.

“We are proud that the GAS 95 is another ship that has been honoured with the Green Award in Gold. This also recognises our efforts towards sustainability and innovation in inland shipping,” the company said in a brief social media update.

The vessel was put into operation on the river Rhine in February 2024 and according to HGK Shipping, represents a new generation of inland waterway vessels.

The 110-meter-long GAS 95 features a diesel-electric drive and the future fuel-ready concept in line with the company’s principle of “Driving Sustainability”.

The diesel-electric drive system reduces the CO2 emissions produced by the gas tanker by up to a further 30% per tonne/kilometer in comparison with the benchmarks for inland waterway shipping.

Furthermore, the output of particulate matter and other pollutants has also been significantly reduced and the installed power management system has been further refined recently to reduce the fuel consumption to an even greater degree, HGK claims.

This is the second gas tanker of this type that HGK Shipping has put into service to help promote the sustainable development of inland waterway shipping.

The company added that an order has already been placed for the next new diesel-electric vessel for the gas fleet, which will be optimized to operate in shallow waters too, the GAS 96, with more vessels also being planned.

In other related news, HGK Shipping recently held a naming ceremony for its newbuild dry goods vessel with future-fuel-ready capability and what is said to be the world’s largest solar module structure on board an inland waterway vessel.

The vessel, which was named Helios, is optimized for shallow waters and incorporates a diesel-electric drive system with a future-fuel-ready option as well as solar panels installed on board.