The steel cutting ceremony - for the 242 m-long and 35.2 m-wide ro-ro vessel - took place at the Chinese CIMC Raffles shipyard in Yantai on 30 March.

According to the company, it'll be the world's first ro-ro ship that runs on liquefied natural gas and has the highest 1A Super ice class.

The newbuilding is scheduled for delivery in August 2021. Once put into operation later in autumn the same year, it'll offer 5,800 lane metres of cargo capacity across WALLENIUS SOL's Baltic-North Sea trade lane.

The ro-ro ship has been designed by Wallenius Marine in collaboration with Knud E. Hansen. In mid-March, Wallenius Marine opened a local office at the Yantai shipyard. It will be fully manned by June, allowing the company to closely monitor the shipbuilding process and collaborate with CIMC Raffles. Also in June, the construction will begin on a sister ship.

WALLENIUS SOL cites a research carried out by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, according to which the newbuild will consume 50% less fuel as well as emit 60% less greenhouse gases per transported unit (as compared to the vessels currently serving the company’s traffic).

"I'm absolutely thrilled that construction has begun. We set the bar high in terms of reliable ocean freight with low environmental impact, and a ship with both the highest ice class and environmental performance shows how we live up to this. As a state-of-the-art vessel, it's very important for us," Ragnar Johansson, Managing Director, WALLENIUS SOL, commented.

Photo: WALLENIUS SOL