Odfjell has undertaken a major fleet renewal program through measures such as pool cooperation, redelivery of older tonnage and chartering of new ships, and today, a historic marker for the most extensive project of them all: four new 49,000 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers, out of a total order of six vessels.
“Our renewal initiatives and investments ensure that we have an optimal fleet composition, equipped to meet our customers’ needs in coming years – safely and efficiently. We are very excited about this design, which will significantly lower our unit cost while at the same time reducing our environmental footprint”, said Kristian Mørch, CEO.
At any given time, Odfjell has a versatile fleet composed of about 80 chemical tankers trading around the world. These ships carry some 600 different chemicals and liquids which are used to produce a multitude of products we depend on in our everyday life; from phones and PC’s to medicines, fabrics and cooking oil.
The four newbuilds are tailor-made for Odfjell’s core objective: to transport and handle each of these unique chemicals in the safest, most efficient, eco-friendly way. Over the years, Odfjell has done extensive in-house research and made heavy investments to reduce emissions, resulting in a solid 30% increase in energy efficiency since 2009.
The first of the new chemical tankers is expected to enter the fleet in late July, with the next three being delivered successively at three-month intervals.
When all renewal initiatives are implemented, Odfjell will boast one of the world’s most eco-friendly and modern fleets, spearheaded by these four new, highly advanced ships.
Naming Ceremony – Bow Orion and Bow Olympus
The naming ceremonies for the two vessels took place on the building site at the Hudong-Zhonghua yard in China on July 1st. Representatives from Odfjell management and site team, the yard, customers and partners attended the formal event at where the ships were officially named Bow Orion and Bow Olympus.