DFDS has ordered two more large freight ships which are to be built at the Jinling shipyard in China by naval architects Knud E. Hansen. In total, DFDS has ordered four large ro-ro ships to service freight customers across the North Sea from 2019 and 2020. The ships are the first DFDS-owned vessels built according to the new IMO environmental standards.
The ships will be built according to the new IMO EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) regulations, which set significantly lower limits for energy consumption and emissions in relation to the ship’s capacity and engine power.
Overall, they will reduce energy consumption and emissions by more than 25% per transported trailer compared to current standards.
The ships will be also built with a scrubber and equipped with a ballast water treatment system and a number of energy-enhancing initiatives, representing ‘a whole new generation of environmentally friendly ro-ro ships’ according to Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS.
“The ships form part of our new building programme that underpins our ability to deliver the transport capacity required by our customers and our continuous pursuit of efficiency improvements,” he added.
The two new ships, which will be 6,700-lane metres long, will also feature a unique ramp system with three independent stern ramps and internal ramps on each side in the ships. This means that they can be loaded and unloaded in a very short time so they can offer the combination of greater efficiency and capacity that can support DFDS customers’ growth in their trade across the North Sea and enable them to better service their customers.
