China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou has cut steel for Erik Thun’s Vinga series dual-fuel product tanker ordered in March this year.
The 17,999 dwt vessel is a sister to Thun Venern, and it is the latest contribution to the “Vinga-series” of nine previous sister vessels, all trading within the Gothia Tanker Alliance.
All the vessels in the series have dual-fuel capability and use LNG/LBG as fuel. According to the Swedish shipping company, the vessels from the series are equipped with a battery hybrid solution and several innovative features that reduce fuel and energy consumption resulting in extensively lower emissions of CO2, sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and hazardous particles.
It has a cargo capacity of 20,306 cubic meters in 12 epoxy coated cargo tanks, ice class 1A and an efficient cargo handling system.
Erik Thun Group’s close partner Furetank will technically and commercially manage the new vessel and upon delivery in 2024, the vessel will enter the Gothia Tanker Alliance network.
The new ship will also be fully equipped to operate cargo pumps with shore power, to reduce emissions even further as soon as ports will offer the opportunity.
Earlier this year, Erik Thun Group also ordered two new dry cargo vessels from Dutch shipyard Ferus Smit in an effort to replace some of the existing ships with newbuilds.
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The company started ordering LNG-fueled ships almost a decade ago, with its cement carriers Greenland and Ireland, launched 2015 and 2016 at Scheepswerf Ferus Smit B.V. in the Netherlands, claiming the title as the two first dry cargo vessels in the world fueled by LNG.
In 2018, the company’s product tanker Thun Venern started operating as the third vessel in a series of eight vessels ordered within the Gothia Tanker Alliance partnership.
During the same year, the company’s dual-fueled product tankers in the E-class; Thun Eos, Thun Evolve, Thun Equality and Thun Empower were launched. These vessels use LNG as their main fuel, but Thun Evolve is involved in a project with renewable maritime fuel and is using a fuel blend consisting of LNG and 10% of renewable liquefied biogas, according to the company’s website.