NORDEN: Customers Want ECO Tonnage

NORDEN is buying six new fuel-efficient ships.

To meet customer demand, tankers must be as fuel efficient as possible, according to Danish independent shipping company Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN A/S (NORDEN), which is introducing newbuildings that reduce fuel consumption by 25 percent.

"The customers know that the existing fleet is conventional in terms of fuel consumption," said Lars Bagge Christensen, head of NORDEN's Tanker Department.

"But when they charter in newly built tonnage, they have a choice, and therefore, they only choose ECO tonnage with a significantly lower fuel consumption."

NORDEN said two handysize vessels, which are scheduled for delivery from Guangzhou Shipyard International Co., Ltd. (GSI) in China in early 2014, will use 25 percent less fuel than their conventional counterparts.

Four medium range (MR) product tankers, to be delivered by Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in the first quarter of next year, will use 20 to 25 percent less fuel.

The vessels also offer a comparable reduction in CO2 emissions.

Christensen said the firm ordered the newbuildings despite a glut of ships in the market because overcapacity is mainly in vessels that transport crude oil, while the market for product tankers is more balanced.

NORDEN said it wants to increase the number of vessels it owns from the current 17, to 25 or more, and with the six new vessels already underway, it may order more in the near future.

"When the right vessel with the right ECO properties and the right price is available at a time with the right market outlook, NORDEN will be interested in contracting additional tonnage," Christensen said.

NORDEN operates both dry cargo and product tanker vessels worldwide, operating 44 tanker vessels with a mix of owned and chartered ships, according to its website.

It manages product tanker activities through its 50 percent-owned Norient Product Pool ApS.