Norway's Skarv Shipping Orders Four Ammonia- and Methanol-Ready Multipurpose Vessels

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday September 29, 2023

Norway-based Skarv Shipping has ordered four new multipurpose vessels suitable for conversion to methanol or ammonia propulsion.

The company has signed a deal with Huanghai Shipbuilding in China for four of the 7,000 DWT vessels, with the option for four more, it said in a statement on its website this week.

The first of the ships will be delivered in the third quarter of 2025, with the rest staggered over four-month intervals after that.

The ships will come with ammonia- and methanol-ready notations, typically meaning their design incorporates enough space for the larger fuel tanks needed if the owner decides to convert them to run on these alternative fuels at a later date.

The ships will also be equipped with battery and shore-power systems.

"These ships are far more climate-friendly than what we see in the short-sea market in Europe today, with a very low fuel consumption," Jan Øivind Svardal, CEO of Skarv Shipping, said in the statement.

"They are not what we imagine is the final climate solution for shipping, but they are a giant step in the right direction."