Wallenius Wilhelmsen Expands Fleet with New HERO Unit

Shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen has taken delivery of the Post-Panamax vessel MV Traviata.

On its maiden voyage, Traviata’s first ports of call will be in Japan, loading in Omaezaki and Higashiharima. It will then sail the Asia-North America trade route.

The vessel is the second of a series of four Post-Panamax HERO vessels, with a capacity equivalent to 8,000 cars and electrically hoistable deck panels, ordered by the company for its ocean fleet.

The units have a combined capacity of 24,000 car equivalent units (CEUs).

“Traviata’s sister Titus, the first vessel of this HERO class, has now been in operation for 10 months and proven that all design efforts have paid off,” Michael Hynekamp, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean’s COO, said.

“The vessel class is setting a new benchmark in terms of energy efficiency, improving consumption with approximately 15%, resulting in considerably reduced emission levels compared to similar vessels in the global fleet.”

MV Titus was delivered in June 2018, while the third HERO vessel is scheduled for delivery later this year and the fourth in early 2020. Titus and Traviata are the first large car and truck carriers (LCTCs) built at CSIC Xingang and the first Chinese-built LCTCs in the WW ocean fleet, the company said.

With a bunker system that can operate on different bunker qualities and segregations, Traviata is also prepared for Sulphur 2020 implementation.