Seanergy to pioneer Capesize hydrogen retrofit in EU funded project

Greek pure-play Capesize ship owner Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. has revealed that it will retrofit one of its existing Capesize vessels with hydrogen (H2) technology.

The project is being bankrolled through the European Union Funded SAFeCRAFT Project Consortium. Seanergy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seanergy Shipmanagement Corp., is the first Greek-based shipping company to accomplish a strategic partnership with the fund.

Safecraft aims to demonstrate the safety and viability of Sustainable Alternative Fuels (SAFs) in seaborne transportation, accelerating the adoption of SAFs technologies.

As disclosed, the selected conventionally-fueled Capesize vessel will be retrofitted to utilize hydrogen as its main energy source for electric power generation. The system is also expected to cover a portion of the vessel’s propulsion requirements and, therefore, to reduce reliance on conventional fuels.

The retrofitting initiative will be overseen by Seanergy and implemented in collaboration with partners including Hydrus Engineering S.A., American Bureau of Shipping, National Technical University of Athens, MOTOR OIL (Hellas) Corinth Refineries S.A., University of Patras, Dresden University of Technology, RINA Services SPA, Pherousa Green Technologies AS, Foundation WEGEMT, and the University of Strathclyde. The project is set to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of using hydrogen as a primary energy source for seaborne transportation.

This project is expected to last 48 months starting from December 2023, will be co-funded by the consortium partners and the European Union’s key funding program for research and innovation, the “Horizon Europe” program, aligning with the FuelEU Maritime 2040 targets and demonstrating a decisive ambition to achieve a 26% reduction of CO2eq in an existing vessel.

“We are the first Greek-based shipping company on this groundbreaking project. The strategic partnership with the European Union and key industry stakeholders is another major achievement of our Company towards our global ESG objectives. Safecraft is advancing our proven strategy of making the current vessels more efficient and potentially reducing radically GHG emissions by utilizing alternative fuels and new technologies on the existing fleet,” Stamatis Tsantanis, Seanergy’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, said.

“This prominent combination of world-renowned stakeholders consists of classification societies, engineering and industrial firms, the academic community, as well as the European Union. Our collaborative approach will actively contribute to the development of green solutions for the existing fleet, revealing solutions that have an immediate impact.” 

“We actively pursue advanced operational and technical initiatives that place Seanergy at the forefront of a greener maritime industry as a notable example,” Vasileios G. Petousis, the company’s Energy & Sustainability Manager, said.

“We strive for a more sustainable course of operations and we constantly evaluate and further improve the Company’s ESG milestones in an effort to meet the global environmental targets through tangible and proven solutions.”

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. operates a fleet of 17 vessels (1 Newcastlemax and 16 Capesize), with an average age of approximately 12.8 years and an aggregate cargo carrying capacity of 3,054,820 dwt.