Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS has launched its first new mega-ship being built at China’s Jinling shipyard.

The first of five units ordered from the shipbuilder was splashed into the Yangtze River on July 16, according to the company.

Prior to the launching, the shipbuilder dressed the newbuilding in a DFDS coat.

The vessel, which is designed to carry 6,700 lane metres of freight equivalent to around 450 trailers, was ordered as part of a batch of two units in September 2016. At the time, the company said that the ships would be delivered at the beginning of 2019.

Later in mid-2017, DFDS decided to add two more ships to its orderbook at Jinling, while in June 2018, the company grew the orderbook by one additional RoRo. These are expected to join their owner in early 2020.

The orders are a part of DFDS’ ongoing fleet renewal plan launched in an effort to accommodate freight growth, increase operational efficiency and reduce the environmental impact.

The large size of the ships is expected to decrease unit costs as well as environmental impact per transported unit, the company earlier said.

As disclosed, the ships represent a new generation of environmentally friendly RoRo ships as they comply with the latest environmental rules of the new IMO-standard EEDI (Energy Efficency Design Index). Also included are scrubbers for the removal of sulphur, ballast water treatment systems and a number of energy efficiency initiatives.

World Maritime News Staff