SeaRoad Orders LNG-fueled RoRo from FSG

Australian shipping company SeaRoad said it has finalized an agreement with German shipbuilding yard Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) to construct a new roll-on /roll-off (RoRo) vessel with liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion worth more than 100 million euros.

Construction on the 210-meter-long vessel will commence in late 2021. The ship will have a capacity of 4,227 lane meters and capability to transport heavy cargo with a unit weight of up to 100 tonnes. At over 40,000 tonnes gross, this will be the largest freight vessel in SeaRoad’s history, providing more transport options for local agriculture, aquaculture and manufacturing industries.

The newbuild will join Searoad Mersey II and replace charter vessel MV Liekut to operate on Bass Strait between Melbourne and Devonport, scheduled for the last quarter of 2023.

The new build agreement took a year to negotiate with border restrictions requiring SeaRoad and FSG to sign the contract 16,000 km apart during a video call.

FSG built Searoad Mersey II, which joined the fleet in 2016, and constructed MV Liekut, which joined SeaRoad under a three-year charter agreement in April 2021.