Essberger orders further tanker newbuildings

September 27, 2024

The John T. Essberger shipping company has only just christened the fourth newbuilding in a series of tankers. And significantly larger ships are already being ordered in China.

Two ultra-modern 13,000 dwt chemical tankers with 1A ice class and stainless steel tanks have been ordered from the Rainbow shipyard in Nantong. In addition, options have been agreed for four further newbuildings.

The engines are reportedly designed to run on methanol from the outset and can, therefore, meet the requirements for future environmentally friendly fuels. The first ship is scheduled for completion by April 2027.

Although shipyard capacities are currently heavily utilised worldwide and construction prices are therefore at a high level, John T. Essberger remains committed to the goal of modernizing the fleet.

Essberger looks back on 100 years

The order for the Rainbow shipyard in China coincides with the 100th anniversary of the John T. Essberger shipping company, which was founded in Hamburg in 1924. The last ship in a series of four 7,135 dwt chemical tankers was christened here in early September 2024 in the name of the shipping company’s founder John T. Essberger (1887-1959).

The shipping company currently has a fleet of 35 chemical tankers, which are deployed from Hamburg as part of the “E&S Tankers” joint service with the Norwegian shipping company Stolt-Nielsen. The newbuildings that have now been ordered will also be deployed there.

John T. Essberger (1887 – 1959) was one of the pioneers of tanker shipping. In the post-war years, he became one of the largest clients in the German shipyard industry. After his death, his daughter Liselotte von Rantzau-Essberger (1918 – 1993) took over the management of the shipping company. She expanded the German Africa Lines in particular. Today, the Essberger Group is managed by her sons Eberhart and Heinrich von Rantzau.