The order follows the Finnish shipping company's charter agreement with the also Finnish stainless steel manufacturer Outokumpu.

The 7,800 dwt vessels will be delivered by the Chinese Wuhu Shipyard starting from mid-2023.

Once operational, the newbuilds will serve Outokumpu's traffic between Tornio and Terneuzen. The vessels will transport semi-finished and finished steel products to customers and for further processing. On the backhaul, the ships will carry steel scrap (the primary raw material of Outokumpu's stainless steel).

The new vessels have been designed by Langh Ship in cooperation with Outokumpu and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute. "Langh Ship has three multipurpose cargo ships, specially equipped for shipments of steel, currently charter to Outokumpu. The experiences from many years of cooperation on this trade has been utilized in designing cargo holds and cargo handling solutions for the new vessels," Langh Ship wrote in a press release.

The company furthered, "The main product, stainless steel coils have a secure ride with Langh Ship's patented pontoon-type coil cradle tween deck. By loading coils both on the bottom of the hold and on the tween deck, the weight is distributed in a way making the ship's motions in heavy seas slower. This makes the transport safer and reduces the risk of cargo damage."

Langh Ship also noted, "When loading other goods, the tween decks are stowed in a smaller cargo hold releasing the main cargo hold for bulk cargo or containers. The hold is box-shaped and equipped with adjustable bulkheads to create optimal hold sizes for other cargo as well as the dimensions are optimized for containers. Heavy steel containers especially developed by Langh Cargo Solutions can be carried on the hatch covers."

The 1A ice-class vessels will feature dual-fuel engines, initially sailing on liquefied natural gas (LNG) or bioLNG. The fuel tanks are ready to carry methanol or ammonia.

"Thanks to the energy-efficient hull shape, these vessels have a lower engine power than the current vessels. Despite that they can load more cargo and keep the same service speed," Laura Langh-Lagerlöf, Managing Director, Langh Ship, underlined.

The newbuildings are also prepared for installing onshore power supply equipment, with space reserved for adding batteries to enable hybrid operations, too. The ships will have the Ballast Water Management System from Langh Tech.

Langh-Lagerlöf also commented on the order, "We highly value the long-term relationship that we have with Outokumpu. The cooperation between our companies has started over three decades ago. We very much look forward to this next step with these newbuildings, which deepens our cooperation even further."

To which Jyrki Sandelin, Outokumpu's Category Manager for Transports, added, "This transport stretch is the single most important transport lane for Outokumpu Group and that is why we rely on our trusted partner Langh Ship. Our cooperation and the previous experience gathered on this northern route has led to excellent solutions. Both companies have high ambitions and keep pushing each other for constant improvements."

Photo: Langh Ship