Coasters News

The Hamburg-based Vega-Reederei, a family-owned shipping company founded in 1919, has officially taken delivery of the first vessel of its new series of next-generation coasters: the 3,800 dwt MV VEGAPETRA.The ship was delivered on May 21 by Yahua Shipyard in China and marks the beginning of a steady monthly delivery program. Parallel vessels are currently under construction at HRDD Shipyard, also located in the greater Shanghai region.With nine vessels scheduled alone for delivery within the next nine months…

Norwegian shortsea shipping service provider Lighthouse Ship Management has achieved 33% reduction in fuel costs for one managed general cargo vessel coasters following the installation of a Berg propulsion retrofit package.The Torangsvåg-based fleet manager evaluated Berg’s options for optimizing energy use on board Terneskjaer, an 81m length 2,900 dwt general cargo ship owned by Bio Feeder.The project sought to cut fuel costs and emissions while adding a new competitive edge to a vessel built in 2008.Following a consultative process…

A century-old time capsule, buried in 1924 to commemorate Newport’s naval history, was recently unearthed and opened in a live event at the Newport Public Library. Originally placed under Settlers’ Stone at the Naval Training Station on Coasters Harbor Island, the capsule was a joint effort between the city of Newport and the U.S. Navy.The discovery was made in 2021 by Naval War College Museum researchers, who used ground-penetrating radar to confirm its location. Excavation efforts…

After a stay of around eight weeks at the shipyard, the "Kaja Josephine" left the Strela Shiprepair Yard on July 11, 2024, the first inland vessel to be docked and maintained there since the Stralsund repair yard was founded two years ago. The Futura Carrier, built in 2007, belongs to the fleet of the Schramm Group based in Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein). One of the special features of this type of ship are the four pod drives  that can be rotated through 360°. They are mounted in pairs fore and aft and give the 97.5- x 13.6-m wide inland waterway vessel great maneuverability.

A historically unique ship arrived at the Strela Shiprepair Yard in Stralsund on Monday, July 8, 2024. The former refrigeration and transport ship (KTS) "Stubnitz", which was part of the GDR deep-sea fishing fleet until October 1990, is docked at the shipyard. It is undergoing extensive overhaul and maintenance this month. Once the work has been completed, the ship will receive its 12th classification, which authorizes it to sail for a further five years. The ship, which is operated by the sponsoring organization Denkmal- und Kulturschiff Stubnitz e.V.…

Hamburg-based GEFO Gesellschaft für Oeltransporte mbH had an oil and product tanker from its fleet of 148 serviced and modernized at the Strela Shiprepair Yard in Stralsund for the first time. The 99 x 14 meter oil and product tanker Brahms was docked at Strela Shiprepair's premises in the Volkswerft Maritime Industrial and Commercial Park at the end of May.Brahms, which has a cargo volume of 4178 tons, was scheduled for the so-called intermediate class, meaning that extensive maintenance work had to be carried out in the shortest possible time during its stay at the shipyard.

As partner of the Dutch-based Hudig & Veder Group, Hartel Shipping & Chartering, has awarded Holland Shipyards Group for the delivery of three newbuild MPP coasters of 3.800 DWT.The new Conoship-designed vessels measure 89.42 meters by 13.2 meters and will have a cargo hold capacity of 5.530 cubic meters and a tween deck to allow for increased project cargo capacity.Hartel Shipping has opted for a diesel-electric drivetrain, allowing for running on sustainable fuels now and later on in the future.

EST-Floattech has been contracted by Hoogendijk Electric to design and deliver the complete battery system for Hagland Pioneer, the third newbuild hybrid coaster for Norwegian shipping company Hagland, currently being built at Royal Bodewes shipyard and due for delivery halfway 2023.EST-Floattech’s battery system enables the 5,000-DWT self-discharging bulk carrier to make zero-emission port calls. The vessel, one of a series of three, will also sail in full-electric mode, for example in environmentally sensitive environments, such as in fjords or near-coastal communities.

Shipping Company Groningen (SCG) has contracted offshore internet services provider Castor Marine to install its Global 4G Connectivity package on all 30 of its vessels. With this, the coasters will have a fast, global 4G-LTE internet connection for its crews. On its fleet, SCG offers its personnel a Crew Welfare Zone with free internet within the 12-mile (4G) zone. To realize this, SCG wanted a plug-and-play, cost-efficient system that is always operational and doesn’t interfere with the crew’s activities.To make this happen…

German shipping company Rhenus-Arkon-Shipinvest has placed orders for the first four environmentally-friendly vessels known as Hanse Eco Short Sea Coasters.The short sea bulkers are expected to be delivered during the second half of 2021, with the construction work scheduled to begin in February 2020.The vessels are based on the latest developments related to environmental protection, digitization and design.The ‘Hanse Eco’ fleet is the result of an initiative launched by Torsten Westphal, one of the founding members of Arkon Shipping. Developing a future-oriented short sea fleet provides a sustainable solution for shipbuilding that is designed to meet specific needs – and this work is taking place with its partner Rhenus…

C-Shipping & Logistics handles freight transport from origin to destination and is a strong new addition to the port of Rotterdam’s roster of players. The new company was founded by Rederij de Jong, after teaming up for the occasion with two other big names in shipping and transport: Wouter Kleiss and Mathijs van Schaik.As operational directors, Kleiss and Van Schaik bring along a large network in the shipping sector, and Rederij de Jong ranks as one of the largest shipping companies in the inland shipping and push towing segments. “Through this partnership, we hope to transport even more cargo to the hinterland via Rotterdam.”C-Shipping & Logistics works as a shipbroker and ship agent and is involved in inland shipping, storage and handling.

Five participants will be taking part in a pilot project in Port of Rotterdam Authority  which will focus on mobile shore-based power solutions for sea-going vessels.The project was established by the municipality of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the participants in the project are: ENGIE Ventures & Integrated Solutions BV; PON Power & its subsidiaries; Aggreko Benelux; Mobiele Stroom BV and JP Energy Systems.The project will focus on various mobile shore-based power solutions for sea-going vessels, said a press note.Shore-based power has been compulsory for ships docking at Rotterdam’s more than 500 inland berths for years.

A cruise industry veteran of more than 25 years, Nikolaos Doulis, Lindblad Expeditions’ SVP, New Buildings, discusses with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the build plan for “the best expedition cruise ship ever built.”Born in Greece to a seafaring family, Nikolaos Doulis was destined for a maritime career. His father was a ship captain and eventually a ship owner, and to support the family business he wanted his son to have an engineering education. So at the age of 14, Doulis started spending more time in and around ships…

Belgium-based natural gas transmission system operator Fluxys and Netherlands-based Titan LNG have joined forces to build the FlexFueler 002, a bunkering pontoon to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) more widely available as shipping fuel in the Antwerp port and region.Shipyard Kooiman, Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands, was contracted to build the FlexFueler 002. The pontoon, which is scheduled to be commissioned by mid-2020, will measure 76.4 x 11.45 m and is equipped with four vacuum insulated type C cargo tanks of 370 cu. m. each, to carry liquid LNG. The pontoon is not self propelled but for assistance in maneuvering a bow thruster is installed.

Among the different size categories of LPG ships, the small vessel segment is expected to be the best performer in 2018 while Handysize vessels will be the worst, according to the latest edition of the LPG Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. The LPG shipping market is currently oversupplied with vessels (with the exception of the small segment 1,000-5,000 cbm), as a result of strong fleet growth during the last three years. The global LPG fleet expanded at an annual average rate of 17% in 2015 and 2016, and is expected to grow by 9% in 2017. However, shipowners can now breathe a sigh of relief as fleet growth is set to slow down to 5% in 2018 and 3% in 2019, respectively.

Thun Tankers said it has declared an option for a fifth tanker to be added to the previously contracted four 17,500 dwt IMO II product/chemical tankers on order at Avic Dingheng Shipbuilding Ltd in China. The sister ships are due for delivery between April 2019 and January 2020 and will be commercially managed by Furetank, responsible for the intermediate segment within the Gothia Tanker Alliance. In addition to the five contracted intermediate vessels, Thun Tankers together with…

An algorithm has been developed to schedule transit vessel traffic in two-way waterways where safe distances between transiting vessels must be maintained and passage restrictions may hold. It limits the negative effects of the safety constrains on cargo volume throughput by finding schedules which increase the utilization of these waterways. The potential of this algorithm has been demonstrated on a plausible model of the Strait of Istanbul, and also the Suez Canal has been identified as a waterway where the algorithm could increase the volume of goods transported.

The LPG shipping trade will continue to grow at a healthy pace on the back of strong Asian demand, but fleet growth will outpace it, keeping rates under pressure in 2017, according to the latest edition of the LPG Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. 2016 was a tough year for LPG shipping with rates coming under pressure across all size segments. 2017 is expected to be no different with the fleet set to grow by another 16%, on top of the 17% expansion seen last year. Asia-Pacific countries have been the major drivers of the LPG trade for several years, and imports to this region have grown at a robust rate of 12% annually over the last four years.

Inmarsat has launched Fleet One Global, a service designed to offer basic voice and data connectivity to the maritime market. Fleet One Global is part of the Fleet One range of satcoms services developed for flexibility, reliability and simplicity, aimed at customers with low data needs looking for basic functionality, greater cost and usage control, with the reassurance of a trusted global commercial satellite network. The plug-and-play service delivers 100kbps voice and data at one global rate, eliminating the need for ship owners to use a patchwork of different providers. Fleet One Global achieves 99.9 percent uptime worldwide, ensuring that ships are never out of range for voice calls…

The bunkering of the Ternsund was initiated today in Rotterdam, marking the first seagoing vessel to bunker liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the port. As a result the brand new product tanker of the Swedish shipping company Terntank also receives the first Rotterdam 'LNG bunkering incentive’; a premium amounting to a discount of 10 percent on the seaport dues. On Sunday, the Ternsund arrived for the first time in Rotterdam to unload naphtha and gas oil at Vopak in the Botlek. Monday afternoon…

Siegfried Schmerer already dreamed of becoming a captain as a young boy. Later, as a sailor on a coaster, he suffered from seasickness. Though he thought about giving up, he stuck with it and eventually worked his way up all the way to the bridge. After half a century at sea, Captain Schmerer will sail on his last voyage this September on board the Colombo Express. In Hapag-Lloyd Insights, he takes a look back at his career, such as at the long voyages to Australia in what was then the world’s largest general cargo ship or the 20-meter-high waves near the Azores.

Wastewater streams aboard the two state-of-the-art EcoCoasters Dutch shipyard Royal Bodewes is building for Finland’s VG-Shipping will be managed by a bespoke treatment system designed by ACO Marine. Both 4700dwt EcoCoasters Eeva VG and Mirva VG, due to be delivered this autumn to VG-Shipping, the ship management arm of the Meriaura Group, feature MEPC.227(64)-compliant Clarimar MF-1 treatment plants. Sacha Uittenbogaart, Sales and Marketing Manager with Technisch Bureau Uittenbogaart, ACO Marine’s Netherlands distributor, added: “Both vessels feature systems and technologies designed to reduce substantially the environmental impact of ship operations.

Trading in ice is the toughest challenge for a hull coating. Regular anti-fouling paints or simple epoxies are usually scraped off by the constant abrasion of the ice, and extra drydockings are needed to repaint, often after just one season. This was a major issue for Hamburg-based shipowner Interscan Schiffahrt, which controls a fleet of 23 vessels, many of them operating in the Baltic Sea and seas in the far north. However, like other vessels operating in ice conditions, they required frequent repairs to their underwater coating, with time out of service every one or two years costing the owner dearly. The company no longer has this problem.