Institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management have contracted 40 LNG-fuelled inland waterway barges against charters with energy major Shell.
The eco-type, shallow-draught barges are to be built by Concordia Damen in and operated by inland shipping specialist VT Group/Marlow.
They have been designed to carry 2,800-tonnes on a 3.25 metre draught to maximise their cargo carrying capacity on the Dutch, Belgian and German canal and river network, the yard said.
The so-called Parsifal tankers will transport mineral oils between Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Rhine network.
A yard official declined to put a price on the barge newbuildings.
Concordia Damen will begin construction of the tankers in December and deliver the first barge in November 2021.
The yard will then hand over a vessel each month until the order is completed by December 2024.
Frachtcontor Capital Partners was the broker for the deal.
Length: 110 metres
Breadth: 11.45 metres
Depth: 5.05 metres
Draft: 3.25 metres
Cargo tanks: 8
Capacity: 3,040 cbm
Fuelling: LNG
Electric power: 1200 eKW
Propulsion power: 1000 eKW
Shell freight trading manager Martin van Veen said: “Concordia Damen has a proven track record in the delivery of products that are highly efficient and sustainable. In addition, they have demonstrated their capabilities in the delivery of shallow draught vessels, which is of importance to this project.”
The energy major put the first LNG-fuelled barge, the Greenstream (built 2013), into operation in 2013 and followed this up with 3,000-dwt LNG London (built 2019) last year.
JP Morgan has paired with Shell on several LNG newbuilding projects in the past 18 months.
The company’s global head of transportation Andy Dacy is “excited and honoured to partner with Shell and Concordia Damen on this innovative and sustainable inland waterway project”.
Concordia Damen chief executive Chris Kornet said the order is a validation of the yard’s efforts towards greater levels of sustainability in the inland shipping sector.
