New efficient vessel design for short sea shipping

The six newbuilds, with an option for a further ten, are being built by Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering Co. They will be owned by Mare Balticum, a subsidiary of Mercuria, with ETA Shipping acting as a minority shareholder. The maiden voyage of the first vessel is planned for the second quarter of 2025.

“Three features make these vessels truly unique,” said Mindaugas Gogelis, energy transition director of Mercuria, “future-proof design, efficiency, and automation.

“Designed with the efficiency in mind, ETA vessels are already 30% more efficient than a conventional newbuild and about 50% more efficient than the average ship in the legacy fleet.”

The ETA 6700 has no main engine. Instead the propeller is powered by electric motor with energy supplied by generators fuelled by either conventional or low carbon fuels.

Batteries or fuel-cell technology running on, for example, green hydrogen, methanol or ammonia, can also be used giving completely emission-free running.

The modular design of the vessels allows for an easy replacement of a power source, said ETA Shipping co-founder, Sam Gombra. “We estimate that it will take less than a day to remove the existing power generation system and replace it, fully or partially, without the need for a shipyard,” he said.

The vessel has a capacity of 7,400 tonnes and can achieve 10.5 knots fully laden at under 900 KW of power, making it reportedly the most efficient Ice 1A vessel in its class. A focus on automation such as virtual navigation means it can be crewed with just four instead of the usual six.