The first shortsea newbuilding of the type “Eco Freighter 5200XL” for the German shipping companies W.D.R – Wyker Dampfschiffs-Rederei and Kontor 17 has been launched in China.
The ship is being built at the Dajin Heavy Industry shipyard and will in future sail under charter for a Danish company and under the Portuguese flag as the “Baltic Strength”. W.D.R will receive one unit, while Kontor 17 will receive another newbuild. Both ships will be managed by Kontor 17 from Hamburg. For the companies, the freighters are part of a fleet expansion. The “Insel Föhr” is the first cargo ship in the W.D.R. fleet; the shipping company has so far 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 office Groot Ship Design together with the Hamburg-based broker Toepfer Transport.
The design is very popular in the industry, and around 80 newbuilds have been ordered by various German and European shipping companies. It is designed for maximum efficiency and is intended to significantly reduce consumption. Further details on the ship design and the background to its development can be found here.
The two ships for W.D.R. and Kontor 17 have already been chartered long-term by Continental Chartering and will be deployed in the North and Baltic Seas.
The design was sold by Groot to the Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry shipyard in China, but the copyright remains with the Dutch company. Toepfer Transport is a part owner of the “initial design”, as the Hamburg-based company played a key role in its development. Most of the equipment comes from Europe.
Videos: © Dajin Heavy Industry
