Hapag-Lloyd has commissioned South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to build six ships, each with a capacity of over 23 500 TEUs.
Deliveries will begin in 2024.
At the end of last year the line ordered six ships of the same size which means the fleet will be extremely fuel efficient, the line points out. Their engine will operate on LNG, but the vessels will also have sufficient tank capacity to operate on conventional fuel as an alternative.
Hapag-Lloyd is focusing on liquefied natural gas as a medium-term solution, as it reduces CO2 emissions by around 15 to 25% and emissions of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter by more than 90%. Fossil LNG is currently regarded as the most promising fuel on the path towards zero emissions, according to the line. The medium-term goal is to have ships that operate in a climate-neutral way, using synthetic natural gas (SNG).
The six additional ships have been financed via a syndicated green loan in the amount of US$ 852 million that has a maturity of 12 years from the date of delivery. The transaction was concluded in accordance with the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association (LMA) while also being verified by an independent expert in the form of a secondary party opinion of the DNV. The credit facility is being backed by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE), and the syndicate consists of 10 banks.
“With this investment in the additional newbuildings we want to take another step in the ongoing modernisation of our fleet – in terms of both ship size and sustainability,” says CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. “At the same time, we want to meet the persistently high demand and reduce our slot costs.”
The vessels will be deployed on the Europe-Far East routes as part of THE Alliance.