Hafnia prepares for first DF LR2 product tankers
The newbuilding is expected to be delivered in January 2023, the tanker operator announced in December 2022. The Sea & Gas trials of the vessel will take place in January 2023. The second vessel in the series, Hafnia Loire, will be delivered in April 2023.
The vessels are owned by a joint venture of Hafnia and CSSC Shipping. Two of the series of four vessels will be time chartered to TotalEnergies, and the remainder will be time chartered to Equinor.
The takeover of all four vessels will take place during 2023 and 2024, marking the beginning of alternate fuel usage at Hafnia. “We are confident these vessels will pave the path for alternative fuel enabled vessels entering the Hafnia fleet in future”, states Ralph Juhl, EVP Technical.
The LR2 tankers will be powered by high-pressure dual-fuel LNG engines. The vessels’ auxiliary engines will also be capable of operating on multiple fuels. The highly-efficient LR2 tankers will emit 5,000-6,000 fewer tons of CO2 per year than conventional tankers, but also approximately 30% fewer than standard dual-fuel LNG vessels. As a result, the vessels will exceed “Phase 3” Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirements.
The high-pressure dual-fuel LNG engines incorporate a flexible design that not only ensures close to zero methane slip but also makes them adaptable to the zero-emission fuels of the future (such as ammonia or methanol).
