French shipowner LD Armateurs (LDA) has launched Spirit of Toulouse, the first of three ‘low-emission’ RoRo vessels chartered to Airbus. The three vessels will each be equipped with six 35-metre-high rotor sails from Norsepower and two dual-fuel engines that can run on methanol or marine diesel oil (MDO). They will also feature efficient propellers, low-friction anti-fouling coatings, smart power management and heat conversion systems, as well as weather routing software. The ships, which will transport aircraft components for Airbus, are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% on a yearly basis compared with the previous generation of ships, according to […]

An LNG bunkering operation was disrupted in Rotterdam on 6 February after seven containers fell from Hapag-Lloyd’s 23,660 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) boxship Bangkok Express, onto the aft deck of the LNG bunkering vessel (LNGBV) K. Lotus. Two containers also fell into the water during the incident, which occurred in the evening at the Prinses Amaliahaven, on Maasvlakte 2, the Port of Rotterdam has informed ship.energy. In a statement, the Port of Rotterdam confirmed that no one was injured. ‘The crew of the bunkering vessel gathered in a safe location and the bunkering operation was stopped immediately,’ a spokesperson for the Port of Rotterdam Authority told ship.energy, and he also confirmed […]

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) is back on the vessel procurement trail with an order for eight LNG dual-fuelled 18,600 TEU vessels which will be constructed at New Times Shipbuilding Co. in China. Announcing the order, Maersk said it is part of its ongoing fleet renewal programme. Anda Cristescu, Head of Chartering & Newbuilding at Maersk, also noted that: ‘Deployment flexibility has been a key factor in our decision-making. ‘Although these vessels are large, they offer greater flexibility than the largest ships currently being built in our industry. This provides us with multiple deployment options across both our current and […]