DFDS orders two new ro-ro ships at Jinling yard

The latest order is in addition to an earlier order made in October last year for two similar ro-ro ships, bringing the shipowner’s orderbook of the 6,700-lane metre vessels at Jinling shipyard to four.

The first two of the four new ro-ro ships are scheduled to be delivered in early-2019, and the latest two new ones in early-2020, for operations across the North Sea.

“The ships form part of our newbuilding programme that underpins our ability to deliver the transport capacity required by our customers and our continuous pursuit of efficiency improvements,” said Niels Smedegaard, ceo of DFDS.

The ro-ro ships are being constructed in accordance to the new IMO EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) regulations, and they will reduce energy consumption and emissions by more than 25% per transported trailer compared to current standards.

“As the ships are also being built with a scrubber and equipped with ballast water treatment system and a number of energy-enhancing initiatives, they represent a whole new generation of environmentally friendly ro-ro ships,” Smedegaard said.

In addition to the four newbuilds at Jinling shipyard, DFDS’ newbuilding programme so far includes two ro-ro ships under construction in Flensburg, Germany.