The MV Containerships Nord visualized throughout its initial LNG bunkering in January 2019. Photo: Containerships

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar)– CMA CGM shortsea subsidiary Containerships has actually gotten its 4th LNG-powered vessel, the 1,380 teu Containerships Arctic.

The vessel will certainly bunker with about 200 lots of LNG at Rotterdam and also will certainly be released on the intra-European service provider’s Baltic solution after a duration covering for CMA CGM on its Baltic feeder solution network.

The vessel joins its 3 sis ships, Containerships Aurora, Containerships Nord and also Containerships Polar, with the last 2 in a collection of 5 yet to be validated by the service provider.

The Finnish container line had actually put orders for the LNG ships before its procurement by CMA CGM in June 2018, yet the technique was totally sustained by the brand-new proprietor, which has actually chosen to drop the very same path with an order of 20 LNG-fuelled ships, consisting of 9 23,000 teu ULCVs.

The initially of these, the French- flagged 23,000 teu CMA CGM Jacques Saade, called after line’s owner, was introduced in September and also is asserted to lower exhausts of sulphur oxides and also great bits by 99%, compared to existing aquatic gas alternatives.

However, various other service providers have yet to adhere to CMA CGM’s LNG-fuelled technique, mentioning ongoing worries over the framework to sustain its bunkering. And for existing vessels, retrofitting is not a practical alternative.

Even for supposed LNG-ready ships, transforming the vessels to operate on the gas is a really costly and also lengthy procedure, as Hapag-Lloyd has actually located to its price.

The German service provider acquired 17 LNG-ready ULCVs from its merging with UASC yet it has actually just chosen to have among these ships transformed to LNG on“a trial basis” Chief exec Rolf Habben Jansen informed The Loadstar previously in the year that a “ballpark figure” for the conversion of the 15,000 teu Sajir was $25m, yet it is recognized that the last number has actually surpassed $30m.

Subsequently Mr Habben Jansen validated that there were no strategies to retrofit any kind of various other UASC vessels.

Elsewhere, MSC, which prepares to have concerning fifty percent of its fleet fitted with scrubbers in order to follow IMO 2020, stated LNG was “not a viable option”.

At the Hansa Forum in Hamburg last month, MSC’s executive vice head of state, maritime plan and also federal government events, Bud Darr, stated the service provider would certainly not be purchasing LNG for any one of its containerships because of the restricted quantity of LNG bunkering centers offered at ports around the globe.

Nevertheless, the MSC team is not completely versus LNG as a gas alternative, confirmed by the current distribution from a French backyard of an LNG-powered huge cruise liner– the initial of 5 on order.

Indeed, a research this year, appointed by the not-for-profit market structure SEA/LNG, asserted LNG was the “most environmentally friendly, readily available fuel for shipping today – and in the foreseeable future”.

Meanwhile, MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM and also others are concentrating their r & d on locating a lasting choice for nonrenewable fuel sources and also are reporting some restricted success.

This is nonetheless showing a drag out brand-new orders as service providers hesitate to dedicate to modern technology that might be outdated by the time the newbuild vessels are supplied in a couple of years’ time.

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