E&S Tankers, a joint venture of Essberger Tankers and Stolt Tankers, has launched its first newbuild dual-fuel stainless steel parcel chemical tanker.
The vessel named Liselotte Essberger was launched on 6 April. It is the first out of four newbuildings ordered by John T. Essberger Group at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Dingheng Co. Ltd in 2021.
Pursuant to the contract with the Chinese shipyard, four 6,600 dwt stainless steel parcel chemical tankers with options for an additional four vessels were ordered.
As informed at the time, all vessels will have dual-fuel LNG propulsion and certified Finnish/Swedish 1A ice class. German engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions was contracted to deliver integrated HyProp ECO propulsion solutions for the vessels.
The new vessels will be optimized in terms of hull design and equipment, resulting in a significantly improved energy efficiency of at least 30% and the ability to use shore power connections during cargo operations, according to the company.
The newbuildings are expected to be delivered from mid-2023 and will be operated by E&S Tankers to initiate the fleet renewal.
In 2020, John T. Essberger Group entered into the joint venture, E&S Tankers, with Stolt Tankers to operate their combined parcel tanker fleets trading within Europe. Apart from the newbuilding program, the fleet consists of 48 vessels capable of carrying a wide range of high-grade chemicals.