The Finnish shipping company, Containerships, announced they have launched their first LNG-fuelled container vessel, ‘M/S Containerships Nord’ at Wenchong Shipyard, on November 4th.
After the launch of ‘M/S Containerships Nord’, the keel laying of the second vessel followed, which is now being built up on the slipway.
The block production for the second vessel is almost completed and 148 blocks have been accepted. The main engine is set to be tested at the end of November.
The necessary work for the first vessel continues on an outfitting pier where interior, such as piping, cabling, smaller machinery and furnishings of the vessel will be installed.
In addition to the main engine factory acceptance, which was finished on September, the LNG tanks have now been accepted and are ready to be installed on the shipyard.
Steel cutting of the third vessel started on May and steel cutting of the fourth vessel is planned to begin in September.
In 2018, Containerships will have all four of their new LNG-fuelled vessels in operation on the Baltics and North Sea. The first vessel is expected to start sailing during the first half of 2018 depending of completion of sea trials, the company said.
Earlier this year, Containerships announced that they have been granted substantial funding for their liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, by the European Union and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).
With this grant, the Finnish shipping company will implement its eco-friendly strategy, which is based on using LNG throughout the Company’s logistics supply chain.
