Germany’s Elbdeich Reederei could extend LNG fuelling to more vessels in its fleet after acquiring its first containership that uses the technology.
The Drochtersen-based company has emerged as the buyer of three feedermax vessels, including the first feeder containership to pioneer dual-fuel LNG systems in the Baltic Sea.
The 1,036-teu Wes Amelie and Wes Carina (both built 2011) and Wes Janine (built 2012) are reported sold for an en bloc price of €24m ($28.9m).
The three ice-class 1A sisterships have been sold at tender by German bank Nord/LB which is aggressively running down its shipping portfolio.
The ships have been sold after the KG (limited partnership) owners of the vessels filed for insolvency in December.
USC takes fleet to 26 ships
The sale leaves former manager Wessels Reederei with 15 multipurpose vessels and a single feedermax containership.
But the deal lifts the number of vessels managed by Elbdeich and its associated company United Shipping Companies (USC) to 26 ships.
Elbdeich, which was founded in 2004 by managing partners Peter Frese and Jens Moje, focuses on feeder ships serving the European continent.
It is moving into new territory with the acquisition of the Wes Amelie, which was fitted for LNG propulsion in 2017 and was the first adopter of gas as a marine fuel in the European container feeder segment.
"The LNG-dual fuel ship is an interesting addition to our fleet given the current trend to reduce emissions in the shipping industry,” Frese told TradeWinds.
"We are investigating at the moment whether an extension of the program to other ships in our fleet might be an option,” he added.
The Wes Amelie has in recent years been operated in services ran by Unifeeder on feeder routes mainly in the Baltic Sea.
Potential conversion candidates
There are 23 vessels of the SSW 1000 design, 16 of them structurally identical to the Wes Amelie, which are deemed possible conversion candidates.
While the cost of converting the ships to gas is high at around $9m, the program has benefited from hefty subsidies from the German government.
Elbdeich has been building up its fleet in recent years.
Last year it acquired two similar sized feederships, the 1,025-teu Elbsky (built 2009) and the 1,025-teu Elbsummer (built 2011).
All Elbdeich ships sail with the prefix Elb in the ship name and are operated in the USB fleet.
