ESL Shipping orders four new green handysize vessels

ESL Shipping, an Aspo company, has placed an order for a series of four handysize vessels at the China Merchants Jinligh Shipyard in Nanjing, China. The vessels will feature 1A ice-class and will be operated on green hydrogen-based e-methanol or biomethanol. 

According to the company, the order is valued at around €186 million, with options for adding further vessels to the order. The four vessels ordered now are expected to enter service between the third quarter of 2027 and the first quarter of 2028.

“Our strategy is based on sustainability leadership and our unique ability to develop and provide reliable infrastructure for the ice-bound Nordic green transition industries. We have developed these state-of-the-art, highly flexible multi-fuel vessels in close cooperation with our industrial partners,” says Mikki Koskinen, Managing Director of ESL Shipping.

ESL Shipping worked on the design of the vessels together with Deltamarin and the Swedish SSPA model test facility, tailoring them to the local customer needs.

“This investment is fully aligned with Aspo’s portfolio vision and financial ambition as communicated on Aspo’s capital markets day on May 14, 2024. ESL Shipping aims to be at the forefront in supporting its industrial partners towards delivering entirely fossil-free products and services. This investment in fossil-free handysize vessels is a natural step to take now, when the still ongoing investment in low-emission hybrid coasters has proven to be highly successful”, says Rolf Jansson, CEO of Aspo and Chairman of the Board of ESL Shipping.