LNG-FUELLED PARCEL TANKERS FROM CHINA

First-of-class Liselotte Essberger made her north European service debut in December, and the fourth and last vessel in the contract with China Merchants Jinling (Yangzhou) Dingheng shipyard is approaching completion. Commercial operation of the new generation has been assigned to E&S Tankers, the joint venture forged in 2021 between Essberger Tankers and Stolt Tankers.

The 120m design features an all-stainless steel, highly compartmentalised cargo section and integrated HyProp ECO propulsion solution built around an LNG dual-fuel, medium-speed main engine and shaft generator-cum-electric motor.

The sophisticated design is tailored to transporting handling-sensitive products in harsh environments such as the northern Baltic during the winter season. The new ships are reckoned to be at least 30% more energy efficient than comparable tonnage, and are fitted to use a shore power connection during cargo operations.

Uddevalla-domiciled FKAB was appointed by the shipowner to provide design services throughout, from first concepts to basic and detail design. The Swedish consultancy is especially well versed in specialised tanker development, and its imprint on the Essberger programme includes the optimised hull lines and F-Bow configuration. The svelte body form reduces resistance, while course stability is reported to be of a high order even at low speeds. Construction and powering to Finnish/Swedish 1A ice class standard reflects the importance of Baltic business to E&S Tankers and Essberger.

As befits the parcel tanker designation, the 16-tank arrangement served by individual deepwell pumps offers an equivalent number of segregations, affording considerable flexibility within an overall transportation volume of 7,689m³.

The main machinery is a six-cylinder version of the MAN L35/44 dual-fuel engine, producing 3,180kW at 750rpm, and driving an Alpha controllable pitch propeller through a Renk gearbox incorporating PTO/PTH/PTI drive for the shaft alternator/motor. MAN Energy Solutions’ scope of supply, which includes one L23/30DF dual-fuel genset, is all the more notable for the HyProp ECO integrated electric system. The latter consists of shaft machine, frequency converter, bow thruster motor and related AC switchboard, enabling tailored modes of operation.

Liselotte Essberger has been followed into service by John T. Essberger, with third-of-class Eberhart Essberger completed in China during January, and fourth-in-line Heinrich Essberger at an advanced stage of outfitting. All the ships have been registered in Madeira under the Portuguese flag.

The newbuild programme has received EUR1.58m ($1.72m) per ship in subsidies from the German Federal Ministry of Transport & Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) as part of the government’s Mobility and Fuel Strategy (MKS). The grants, totalling EUR6.32m ($6.87m), have been focused on the LNG element to the technical specification.