Japanese owner Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has contracted four 1,380-vehicle capacity LNG dual-fuel car carriers at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing).
K Line said the vessels were ordered for K Line European Sea Highway Services GmbH (KESS), the K Line’s wholly owned subsidiary that operates short sea and coastal transport services for completely built-up cars in Europe.
The 130-metre-long vessels, with a maximum capacity of around 1,380 vehicles and Ice Class 1A, are designed for the frequent transport of small lots in European short sea shipping.
“They are also designed to comply with size restrictions, which some European ports for imported cars have,” K Line said.
Each vessel will be equipped with a straight stern ramp with a load capacity of 60 tons.
According to K Line, this will enhance KESS’s capacity to handle heavy and oversized cargo and increase its flexibility to carry a wide variety of cargo types in addition to passenger cars.
K Line said it will consider using bio-diesel and bio-LNG fuel, or liquefied bio methane, in addition to LNG fuel as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the group.
