The W.D.R. shipping company, based in Wyk auf Föhr, Germany, has taken delivery of its first newly built short-sea vessel in China.
The “Eco Freighter”, designed by the Dutch design firm Groot Ship Design, marks the shipping company’s entry into a new market.
The vessel is listed as the “Insel Föhr” in the W.D.R. fleet. Chartered by a Danish company, it will in future sail as the “Baltic Strength”. It was built – and delivered – by the Dajin Heavy Industry shipyard in China. Kontor 17 from Hamburg is responsible for construction supervision and ship management.
W.D.R. is taking delivery of one “Eco Freighter 5200XL”, whilst Kontor 17 is receiving another newbuild. For both companies, the freighters form part of a fleet expansion. The “Insel Föhr” is the first cargo ship in W.D.R.’s fleet; until now, the shipping company has focused primarily on ferries.
The newbuild is a so-called XXL version of the “Eco Freighter” ship concept, which was initiated by the Dutch design firm Groot Ship Design in collaboration with the Hamburg-based broker Toepfer Transport.
The design is highly popular within the industry, with around 80 newbuilds having been ordered by various German and European shipping companies. It is optimised for maximum efficiency and is intended to significantly reduce fuel consumption.
The two vessels for W.D.R. and Kontor 17 have already been chartered on long-term contracts by Continental Chartering and will be deployed in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
The design was sold by Groot to the Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry shipyard in China, although the copyright remained with the Dutch company. Toepfer Transport is a co-owner of the ‘Initial Design’, as the Hamburg-based company played a key role in its development. Most of the equipment comes from Europe.
