All-Electric Future For Aussie Limestone Bulker

The newbuild project, awarded to an unnamed shipyard, arises from a 20-year strategic partnership agreement between Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) and Adelaide Brighton Cement (Adbri).

The custom-designed ship will supersede Adbri’s 8,140dwt Accolade II and will support the company’s limestone operations in South Australia, where the group has two quarries and its main Birkenhead cement production plant.

“Developed in line with CSL and Adbri’s shared decarbonisation vision, this groundbreaking vessel will initially run on a hybrid diesel and battery system, replacing 25% of diesel with electric power, and lowering Scope I* emissions by 40% compared to Accolade II,” said CSL president and CEO Louis Martel. “By 2031, we aim to run the ship entirely on electric power, further reducing Scope 1 emissions to less than 10%.”

The design of the self-loading and self-discharging bulk carrier has been optimised to provide a fully integrated limestone supply chain for Adbri, and is expected to transport 2.7m tonnes of limestone per annum, representing a 35% increase over the current vessel’s capability.

Approximately 50% of the newbuild’s energy requirements will be met through a combination of shore power and battery energy storage, with plans to install sufficient batteries in the future to allow 100% electric operations.

The specified hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system and pathway to decarbonisation is a significant development in the bulker category, and is suited to the concentration of the ship’s intended main trading pattern within South Australia. The Birkenhead complex is located on the LeFevre Peninsula just north of Adelaide City, while the limestone quarries at Klein Point and Rapid Bay are on the western and southern shores of Gulf St Vincent.

Construction of the new vessel is to start during 2024. She will be owned and operated by CSL, and will serve Adbri’s strategy of increasing cement output at Birkenhead, while also aiding the production of lower carbon products such as EvoCem that uses limestone as a clinker substitute.

The Australian venture signifies the opening of another chapter in Quebec-based CSL’s business expansion. CSL’s newbuild programme includes two of four 72,250dwt self-unloading bulkers ordered from Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding (YAMIC) in concert with Canadian compatriot Algoma Central Corporation. The ocean-going class, of which the first is expected to be commissioned in July 2025, features design and engineering provision for future adaptation to methanol fuel.

Accolade II, the present mainstay of the limestone traffic across Gulf St Vincent, was completed by the erstwhile Carrington Slipways at Newcastle, New South Wales, in 1982, and is managed by Sydney-headquartered Inco Ships on behalf of Adbri.