Signs of life? German shipowner names first of four new tankers

Bremen-based tanker shipping company Carl Büttner Holding has announced the naming of the first of its “Project Green” 38,000 dwt IMO II product and chemical handysize tankers. The CB Adriatic was presented to its new owners at the New Hantong Shipyard in Yangzhong, China, this week.

The 183 m-long and 32 m-wide newbuilding is the first ship in a series of four identical sister ships coming out of Project Green; the other three vessels will be delivered in the months of January, March and May 2020.

Carl Büttner’s managing director Thorsten Mackenthun said "Three identical sister ships lined up in a row is a very rare sight anyway; in today’s time when German shipowners hardly have the opportunity to order newbuildings, it is an absolute exception.”

All Project Green tankers are equipped with hybrid scrubbers (Carl Büttner has been a pioneer in the fitment of exhaust gas control equipment). All the newbuildings’ propulsion systems meet IMO Tier III requirements with selective catalytic reduction systems. A state-of-the-art, full-electronic main engine is expected to consume up to 40% less fuel than current vessels. The drive train includes a controllable pitch propeller as well as a bow thruster.

The tankers have 14 cargo tanks with a total capacity of 44,500 m³. The tanker coatings allow the loading of about 96% of all easychems as well as oil products. The tanks are equipped with high-quality pumps with loading rates of 5,000 m³/ hour and discharge rates of 3,750 m³/ hour.

The hull design is optimised compared to earlier similar tankers. A key feature is shallow draft, but slightly wider to load allows up to 3,000 tons more cargo than competitors for important ports on the North European continent. The Project Green ships are equipped for the winter trip in the Baltic - with the ice class 1B steel reinforcement of the foreship.