Wallenius Lines has bought two post-Panamax ro-ro vessels that will be built at the Tianjin Xingnang in China and operated by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) for vehicle shipments.
The vessels, which will each be able to transport 8,000 cars, were ordered in June of last year and will be delivered in the second and fourth quarters of 2016. Each will be 200m long and will be approximately 4m wider than the current post-Panamax ships currently available to carriers.
Wallenius Lines is a 50% owner of WWL. The company’s other 50% owner, Wilh.Wilhelmsen ASA, has ordered four Post-Panamax vessels from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in the past.
"These post-Panamax vessels are designed to meet customer demands for capacity as well quality and efficiency in both handling and operation, said Wallenius Lines’s COO, Fridtjof Naess. “We continue on our quest to continuously reduce our environmental impact, and this generation of vessels will feature optimised hull design and a number of energy saving solutions to ensure efficient operation.”
Anders Boman, president of Wallenius Lines, also commented: “We continue to believe in deep sea transportation of cars and high and heavy equipment. These newbuildings feature a combination of large capacity and low fuel consumption. The optimised hull design and a number of energy saving features will ensure efficient operation and low environmental impact.”
This is thought to be the first in a series of projects intended to expand the shipbuilder’s expertise with regards to more sophisticated ship types.
