Photo credit: HGK Shipping
HGK Shipping subsidiary Amadeus Schiffahrts- und Speditions GmbH is enhancing its charter fleet during the autumn of this year to include the river-going coastal vessel called Amadeus Saffier. Amadeus is operating the vessel, which is owned by the shipping company De Bock Maritiem, as part of a long-term charter agreement, HGK Shipping said in its statement.
As it is reported by the company, the reasons to modernise its fleet is the high average age of the European short-sea fleet and the growing requirements for logistics operations triggered by the energy transition.
“The renewal of the European short-sea fleet is indispensable in order to meet the growing demands on the part of customers for modern transport logistics operations,” said Steffen Bauer, the CEO of HGK Shipping.
At the beginning of October 2024, the Amadeus Saffier started its first journey from Antwerp to Gijon in Spain.
The vessel equipped with a diesel-electric, “future-fuel-ready” drive system, can switch from the fuel that is currently used, sulphur-reduced marine gas oil (MGO), to alternative, more sustainable energy sources, as HGK Shipping says in its statement.
It is also equipped with so-called VentoFoils, a wind-assisted propulsion system to reduce the emissions of the river-seagoing vessel.
The operational areas for the vessel, which has been designed by Conoship and has a payload capacity of 3,500 tonnes (tdwcc), include bulk and break-bulk cargo on European short-sea routes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, as well as in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.
“Thanks to having a low draught of just 5.00 metres when fully loaded, the vessel can also be used to handle the transition between the open sea and the river Rhine, the Albert Canal and other inland waterways,” HGK Shipping added.
To remind, HGK Shipping is part of Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG with a fleet of around 350 vessels, including owner-operated ships.
