Meriaura Orders Cargo Vessel Pair from Royal Bodewes

Finnish shipping company Meriaura announced it has placed an order for two Ecotrader cargo ships from Dutch shipyard Royal Bodewes. The ships will be built in Hoogezand for scheduled delivery in January and December 2026.

The ships are 105 meters long, 1A ice classed 6750 DWT vessels, designed to achieve the lowest possible emission levels, Meriaura said. Like the EcoCoaster vessels Eeva VG and Mirva VG delivered in 2016, the newbuilds will be capable of operating on biofuel made from recycled raw material produced by Meriaura’s subsidiary VG-Ecofuel. The Ecotrader vessels will also be approximately 30% larger than the EcoCoaster vessels.

Beppe Rosin, CEO of Meriaura, said, “This order is a continuum in our series of investments to energy-efficient tonnage that utilizes bio-oil. In the current geopolitical situation, we found it best to order the ships from an established shipyard operating in Western Europe, which is also in line with our ESG strategy. Security of delivery, quality and the yard’s ability to comply with safety and environmental regulations, and our good experience with the previous newbuildings were the most important factors in our decision to choose Royal Bodewes as our shipbuilder again.”

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set the goal for carbon-neutral shipping by or around 2050. Meriaura’s climate strategy aims for carbon neutrality in the 2030s.

Meriaura’s founder and chairman, Jussi Mälkiä, said, “The two ships ordered now will start our newbuilding program that targets to carbon neutrality remarkably faster than IMO’s target. Our purpose is to systematically renew our fleet with a series of newbuildings. The use of bio-oil combined with compensation enables us to reach this ambitious goal we have set.”

The investment is financed by Oma Säästöpankki Turku, LähiTapiola Keskinäinen Vakuutusyhtiö and Climate Fund.