TradeWinds has been looking through the newbuilding orderbook and picked a handful of vessels set for delivery or launch this year.

Industry discussions revolve around the transition of shipping: digitalisation, automation, electrification, methanol fuel, ammonia as a fuel and biofuel.

An illustration of Bocimar ammonia-fuelled newcastlemax bulk carrier. Photo: CMB.TECH

There’s wind assist technologies, propeller boss cap fins, air lubrication and carbon capture.

These notable ships of 2024 are food for thought about the transition of the industry and the multimillion dollar assets which service it.

Here’s a taster of what we have in mind during the year, look out for the start of a new exciting series on TradeWindsnews.com.

Bocimar has an ammonia-ready newcastlemax bulker which TradeWinds believes could hit the water this month. Bocimar is part of the Saverys owned CMB, so it will be no surprise to read that these vessels could be ammonia ready on delivery.

Norway has been investing heavily in its own transformation, notably to pull its image away from that of an oil and gas producing nation, to one fully behind the decarbonisation market.

This includes the Northern Lights project where the plan is to offer industrial CO2 storage for heavy polluters such as chemical and concrete plants. As part of this there is the supply infrastructure, which needs to be flexible.

Carbon capture and storage joint-venture Northern Lights is building two 7,500-cbm liquefied carbon dioxide carriers. Photo: Northern Lights

Later this year, possibly in the first half, a dedicated CO2 carrier is being launched which will be LNG ready but fitted with a flettner rotor to use wind energy, and air lubrication to reduce hull friction, and so reduce its emissions profile.

After all if industrial CO2 is to be shipped for storage rather than being emitted where it is produced, its own transport emissions footprint should be as low as possible.

Hoegh Autoliners’ Aurora class car carrier. Photo: Hoegh Autoliners

Our third teaser is the first of the Hoegh Autoliners Aurora class vessels which are being built to run using LNG but also be ready to be fulled by ammonia.

There are a growing number of car carriers being built with LNG propulsion. This is no exception, but Hoegh has been securing ammonia supply contracts for its newbuildings, although supply will not be ready for this vessel’s delivery.

Look out for our series of notable deliveries set for delivery during 2024.

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