E&S Tankers takes delivery of first dual-fuel chemical tanker

Hamburg-based shipping company E&S Tankers has taken delivery of the first in a series of four dual-fuel chemical tankers being built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in China.

PHOTO: The delivery ceremony of E&S Tankers’ chemical tanker Liselotte Essberger. E&S Tankers

The 6,600-dwt chemical tanker, Liselotte Essberger, can run on LNG or conventional marine fuels.

The second vessel in the series, John T. Essberger, was launched in June. The keel laying of the third vessel, Eberhart Essberger, was also executed in the same month. The fourth vessel, Heinrich Essberger, is also currently under construction.

Notably, E&S Tankers is a joint venture between tanker operators Essberger Tankers and Stolt Tankers.

LNG has been gaining popularity among shipowners. The global LNG-fuelled fleet comprises 420 vessels, with another 123 expected to join this year, classification society DNV data shows.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a greenhouse gas (GHG) compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Tuhin Roy

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