First Grimaldi's hybrid RORO vessel

Jinling Shipyard in China has started construction of the first hybrid RoRo freighter for Grimaldi Group.

12 vessels in the class are scheduled to be built and the first delivery expected to be done in 2020.

The hybrid vessels will use traditional fossil fuels during operation and battery power when in port.

The hybrid RORO vessel measure around 240 meters in length and has a beam more than 30 meters. The 64 thousand ton ships will be capable to transport over 7,800 lane meters of rolling units, equivalent to approximately 500 trailers.

Power and hybrid systems for the ships will be constructed by Kongsberg Maritime, while Steering gears and propulsion and maneuvering systems will be delivered by Rolls-Royce.

The newbuilds are the part of Grimaldi’s fleet renewal, which will see the Italian shipping company invest USD 1.5 billion in new units.

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has signed a deal to deliver a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier to an undisclosed shipowner in March 2022.

According to Samsung, the contract is worth around KRW 221.6 billion (USD 190 million). This brings the company's orderbook to USD 2.6 billion, which is 33% of its goal for 2019.

Samsung Heavy’s current target is USD 7.8 billion, an increase over last year’s goal due to a robust newbuilding market.

Did you know, that all the vessels can be easily divided into 3 categories? All depends on their size. Panamax is the term using all over the world for identification of vessels' dimensions based on Panama Canal. Thus, most of the vessels in the world are built not exceeding Canal's width and dock's length. Before Canal's expansion all vessels going through it had to meet Panamax characteristics: 289.56 m length, 32.31 m beam and 57.91 m height. 

Once 3rd set of locks got expanded in 2016, Panama Canal Authorities posted New Panamax (also called as NeoPanamax) specifications: 366 m length, 49 m beam and 57.91 m height. 

There are also super-Panamax or post-Panamax ships, they do not meet any of Panamax sizes.

Hapag-Lloyd Eyeing Sustainability
German container giant Hapag-Lloyd has revealed their goals in the sustainability sector.

The company plans to reduce CO2 emissions per TEU kilometer by 20%. The comparison is between the year 2020 and the year 2016. They are also making the switch to low-sulphur fuel, in line with International Maritime Organization’s sulphur cap 2020.

Jörg Erdmann, Senior Director Sustainability Management, stated: "In 2018, we were once again able to reduce the fuel consumption of our global fleet through efficiency measures. The new regulation is an important step on the way to lower-emission shipping. Even though the switch to low-sulphur fuels will entail significant costs, we are convinced that this directive is necessary.”

Hapag-Lloyd's fleet of 227 vessels transports approx. 12 million containers per year.

ONE Can Boast a New Modern Containership

Ocean Network Express (ONE) has added a completely new 14.000 TEUs boxship ONE Apus to its fleet. It belongs to Nippon Yusen Kaisha line and equipped with environmentally-friendly engine, modern and efficient safety system and increased cargo-loading capacity. Its rotation course will be the following:
 
Kaohsiung – Hong Kong – Yantian – Cai Mep – Singapore – New York – Norfolk – Savannah – Charleston – New York – Singapore – Kaohsiung.