Crescent Tankships Orders Innovative Product Tankers

Crescent Tankships, part of the U.K. shipping group Crescent, has ordered two innovative 3,500 dwt chemical and oil tankers from the Rousse Shipyard, Bulgaria. The order, accompanied by a series of options, follows the acquisition by Crescent this week of the Camilla, a 1,880 dwt 1998-built high specification product tanker. "These orders, our first newbuildings since 1989, and the acquisition of the Camilla, show our confidence in the future of the clean products market in Europe," says Rob Bennett, managing director of Crescent Tankships. "We believe this high intensity market will become even more demanding, so with the backing of the Clipper Group, we are moving to ensure we have the right vessels to meet the future high expectations of major charterers in these trades." For delivery in fourth quarter 2003, the two newbuildings will be Lloyd's Register class and British flag. They will have twin engines, twin screws, twin rudders and a high degree of operational redundancy, in addition to being double skinned throughout their length. "These vessels set new standards for environmental protection and safety, as well as operational performance," says Bennett. "They reflect a growing demand for segregated ballast in smaller ships, which cuts down on the likelihood of pollution and also reduces in port time. The double skin in the engine room area protects the bunker spaces." All tanks will have high quality coatings to reduce clingage and increase the speed of cleaning, and will have individual deep well pumps to improve flexibility and reduce stripping residues. Special attention has also been given to vapour emission reduction. The 1998-built 1,880 dwt Camilla is ice-strengthened, double hull and has twin engines/twin rudders. It is of a low draft/high capacity design, developed and built in Finland. It will be substantially upgraded by Crescent Tankships and will enter service in October 2002. According to Bennett, the Camilla is extremely flexible in deployment, and can be mounted with anti pollution equipment, can work as a bunker vessel and also has a stern manifold, making it suitable for Mediterranean deployment. Crescent already has one vessel deployed in the Mediterranean trade. Kevin Hobbs, Crescent chief executive, says, "With the backing of the Clipper Group we can capitalise on our strength and experience in operating a high-intensity coastal tanker fleet, and be proactive in anticipating market requirements. You can never be too clean or too safe or too quick in the European products trades, which are the core of our tanker business."