Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Navigation (CLdN)’s move into the container sector is part of a long-term plan to transfer boxes from its ro-ros onto container ships.
Florent Maes, CEO of CLdN, said this will enable the European shortsea operator to lower costs and reduce carbon emissions.
The Luxembourg-based company, a sister to the Cigrang family-controlled Cobelfret Group, has this year been testing the waters by chartering small feeder vessels for its services in northern Europe.
The result suggested a significant opportunity, as it indicates that enough containers currently shipped on ro-ro vessels could be transitioned to load-on/load-off (lo-lo) container ships.
It helped pave the way for an order, signed last week, for up to 10 feeder-sized vessels.
The six 1,100-teu ships will be built by HD Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan, with deliveries starting in early 2027.
The company also has options for up to four more units, on which decisions will be taken later this year.
The first six are costing KRW 403.9bn ($303.7m), according to a statement from the shipyard on 24 September.
Strategic choice
“This is all part of a long-term strategy, which we formed as a management team and the board a couple of years ago,” said Maes, a veteran of 18 years with CLdN and its CEO since January 2020.
CLdN’s shortsea operations are expected to be more efficient through the deployment of container ships together with the existing ro-ro fleet.
The company has been testing that theory by chartering small container ships.
In March, the 974-teu Andromeda J and Pavo J (both built 2006) were deployed alongside ro-ros in its Benelux-Ireland lo-lo service between Rotterdam, Dublin and Cork.
“This was also nothing completely new because we already had a container line in the past,” Maes said, referring to the former Arx, a 707-teu vessel since sold and renamed Edith (built 2005).
“So we knew what lo-lo container ships were good at, but at the time we didn’t have the port infrastructure to really expand on that modality.”
That changed early this year with CLdN’s acquisition of the Distriport port in Rotterdam, complementing its own terminal in Rozenburg.
That acquisition in February gave the shipping line a facility for handling containers on the Rotterdam-Dublin route.
The outcome strengthened the conviction that CLdN can apply the model on other longer shortsea routes, including those from the continent to the Iberian Peninsula.
“We know that on several routes we can copy the model of what we have now started on Rotterdam-Dublin,” said Maes.
Back to South Korea
CLdN was able to put together the order with the South Korean shipyard in double-quick time.
It meant going back to the shipyard that built its last series of ships, including two 8,000-lane-metre ro-ros for delivery in 2025.
The new vessels have been designed with remarkable fuel efficiency and other specifications, “which make it compelling to go for newbuildings”.
CLdN’s ships are unique in that they are designed to carry 45-foot containers, as well as the standard 40-foot and 20-foot equivalent unit standard containers.
“But we have designed them in such a way that they can equally serve as a standard feeder vessel,” he said.
“We serve many destinations and also plan to further expand the network as well, so there’s plenty of homes for them.”
Methanol option
The choice of fuel for the vessels has yet to be decided.
Whereas the two ro-ros ordered in 2022 were LNG dual-fuel capable, CLdN is considering methanol for its boxships.
“We are going to be active in the market in the coming months to see whether we can, together with potential suppliers or other stakeholders, finalise a business case for methanol propulsion,” Maes said.
That decision is to be taken before the end of the year.
“Even on normal fuel or biofuel or blends, we would be much, much more efficient than anything that’s floating out there today.”
CLdN’s focus is on “unaccompanied freight”, so the ships do not carry passengers or drivers accompanying their trailers.
“We are convinced that is the model for the future, where emissions per unit carried are much lower than any competing mode of transport,” Maes said.
