DFDS Orders Two Large RoRos from China
Northern European shipping and logistics company DFDS said it has ordered another pair of large ro-ro ships from the Jinling Shipyard, doubling its order placed last year at the Chinese yard.
DFDS signed a contract with Jinling in 2016 for the construction of two ro-ro vessels, each with 6,700 lane meter load capacity and space for 450 trailers. Now the company has ordered another two of these ships – its largest ever – to service freight customers across the North Sea from 2019 and 2020.
“The ships form part of our new building program that underpins our ability to deliver the transport capacity required by our customers and our continuous pursuit of efficiency improvements,” said DFDS CEO, Niels Smedegaard.
The recently ordered vessels, like their sister ships, were designed in collaboration with naval architects Knud E. Hansen. The four vessels are the first owned by DFDS to be built in accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) regulations, which set lower limits for energy consumption and emissions in relation to the ship's capacity and engine power. Overall, the new vessels will reduce energy consumption and emissions by more than 25 percent per transported trailer compared to current standards, DFDS said.
“As the ships are also being built with a scrubber and equipped with a ballast water treatment system and a number of energy-enhancing initiatives, they represent a whole new generation of environmentally friendly ro-ro ships,” Smedegaard added.
Peder Gellert Pedersen, executive vice president and head of DFDS’ shipping network, said, “The ships are equipped with a unique ramp system with three independent stern ramps and internal ramps on each side in the ships. This means that they can be loaded and unloaded in a very short time so they can offer the combination of greater efficiency and capacity that can support our customers' growth in their trade across the North Sea and enable them to better service their customers.”
The first two of the new ro-ro ships are expected to be delivered in early 2019, and the new ones in early 2020.
In addition to the four ships on order at Jinling, DFDS’ newbuild program currently includes two ro-ro ships under construction in Flensburg.