First Vessel Lengthening Completed in Finnlines' Fuel Efficiency Initiative

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday November 24, 2017

Finnlines Plc (Finnlines) has announced that, as part of its €70 million ($83.54 million) energy efficiency and emission reduction initiative, the first lengthened vessel has been delivered.

The first "Breeze series" RoRo vessel, MS Finntide, has now been lengthened by approximately 30 metres in order to boost fuel efficiency.

"The close to 30 percent capacity increase will considerably reduce the energy consumption per transported unit compared to the original vessel. In other words, it will improve energy efficiency further and thus contribute more to reducing emissions," explained the company.

Following the lengthening, Finntide is now 217.77 metres long and will be returned to normal operation on the Uusikaupunki/Turku–Travemünde route on November 26.

"Finnlines has continued to invest in its fleet to become a more environmentally friendly and a more sustainable shipping company," said Tom Pippingsköld, CFO of Finnlines.

"We continue to optimise our operations and seek for growth in order to strengthen our competitive position. In response to growing demand, we are expanding our fleet capacity through this lengthening programme. This way we can serve our customers better and grow together with them."

In February, Finnlines, which typically operates its vessels within Europe's Emissions Control Area (ECA), said that, despite rising bunker prices, the use of scrubbing technology during 2016 helped slash its annual bunker bill by 28 percent.