Longship places its 1st newbuild order for multipurpose duo

Dutch shortsea carrier Longship Group BV has placed an order for two 6,080 dwt multipurpose vessels at local Bijlsma Shipyard, part of the VEKA Shipbuilding Group.

The first of the so-called Bijlsma Trader 6000 ships is due to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021, while the second will follow in the first quarter of 2022.

As informed, the €21 million (about $25 million) deal is a joint venture between Longship and the VMS Shipping Group in which both companies have an equal share. Longship will be responsible for the commercial management and VMS for the technical management.

“This is a milestone in Longship’s 11 years’ history. As industrial carrier we further implement our vision of a homogeneous modern fleet… We are continuously looking into expansion possibilities and new technologies to ensure sustainable growth that will keep our fleet up to date and future proof,” Øyvind Sivertsen, Managing Partner and CEO of Longship, commented.

The Bijlsma Trader 6000 features a total length of 103.48 metres and a hold capacity of nearly 270,000 cubic feet. It is suitable for heavy cargo and is equipped with tween decks, according to the company.

Specifically, the newbuilds are optimized with i.a. a low power, 1,600 kW, main engine that drives a nozzled adjustable pitch propeller, shore connection, heat recovery and ECO performance monitoring software. These systems and the design of the vessels contribute to a reduction of CO2 emissions as well as the reduced fuel consumption of about 20% compared to similar tonnages. This results in an excellent EEDI score and alignment with the IMO 2050 ambition of reducing emissions by at least 50%, Longship explained.

“Coastal shipping underwent many changes in respect of financing, ownership and most important the environmental aspect of the trade,” Michel Cigrang, Managing Partner of Longship, said.

In November 2020, Longship announced the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Wagle Chartering, a Norwegian shipbroker, in an effort to enhance its position in Scandinavia and enable active participation in the ongoing consolidation of the dry bulk short sea market.

“It is paramount for us to find solid financial partners who can assist our growth in making coastal shipping more ecological. Consolidation of our market is inevitable too. I am a strong believer of our growth strategy. The first steps were made end of last year by acquiring 50% of Wagle Chartering. And we are looking at other opportunities as well,” Cigrang added.

“Since our founding in 2012, we have managed to achieve a stable growth by taking third-party vessels into our management as well as by participating in several vessels. We are therefore proud that, despite our young existence, we can now realize our first new build project and have a further expansion with our partners,” Erik van der Wiel, CEO of VMS Shipping Group, pointed out.

“We are delighted to support Longship with the expansion of their owned fleet with these two 6,000 DWT multi-purpose vessels. The vessel design makes use of several state-of-the-art technologies, resulting in two future-proof and IMO 2050 compliant vessels,” Reinout Vente, Relationship Manager ABN AMRO, said.

Longship currently operates a fleet of close to 30 vessels with an average age of less than 14 years. The ships move 5 million tons of mainly bulk commodities per annum with a strong focus on biomass fuels and agricultural products, but also cargoes for the metal and aluminium industry.