MR Tanker Stena Immaculate Named in China
Guests at the Stena Immaculate’s naming ceremony (Photo: Stena Bulk)
Godmother Katarina Ljungqvist (Photo: Stena Bulk)
Godmother Katarina Ljungqvist and Erik Hånell President & CEO, Stena Bulk (Photo: Stena Bulk)
Guangzhou is situated in one of the world’s fastest growing metropolitan areas (Photo: Stena Bulk)
Dance and music are a tradition when naming a ship (Photo: Stena Bulk)
The Stena Immaculate, the ninth vessel in a series of 13 new IMOIIMAX MR tankers, was named January 10, 2017 at a ceremony at China’s Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI).
A large number of guests, from both corporate management and partners as well as representatives of the shipyard had gathered on the quayside to attend the naming ceremony. The ceremony began with traditional Chinese dance and music before the ship’s godmother Katarina Ljungqvist, Head of Handelsbanken Western Sweden, swung the bottle of champagne against the tanker’s bows and wished the vessel, her captain and his crew fortune and prosperity on the seven seas. The Stena Immaculate’s captain, Sachin Salunkhe, then showed the guests around the newly built vessel.
The vessel, a chemical and product tanker owned by Stena Bulk, is due to be delivered in the coming days and will sail from Papua New Guinea to Europe with a cargo including vegetable oils on its maiden voyage.
The vessel has a length of 183 meters, a beam of 32 meters and a deadweight of 50,000 tons. A further development of an already established ship concept, the IMOIIMAX technical design was developed by Stena Teknik together with the Chinese shipyard GSI. It offers extra large cargo flexibility, a high level of safety and economical fuel consumption – 10-20 percent lower than that of equivalent vessels when sailing at service speed.
Erik Hånell, President & CEO, Stena Bulk, said, “Almost exactly two years have passed since the delivery of our first IMOIIMAX tanker and the vessels are continuing to perform beyond our expectations. The concept has set a new standard for both cargo efficiency and bunkers consumption. With number nine of the13 vessels on order soon out on the market, this tanker will be yet another addition to our high-quality fleet.”
All the IMOIIMAX tankers will be included in a fleet operated by Stena Weco and will sail in the company’s global logistics system, which currently employs more than 60 vessels.
The delivery of the 10th IMOIIMAX tanker, the Stena Impeccable, is expected to take place in March 2017, followed by the remaining three vessels by 2018.
Five of the 13 IMOIIMAX tankers are wholly owned by Stena Bulk, four together with GAR (Golden Agri Resources), two by Stena Bulk’s sister company Concordia Maritime and two by Stena Weco.
