The long-established Hamburg-based company Leonhardt & Blumberg is ordering up to eight shortsea newbuildings in India together with Dutch company Boosma Shipping.
Boomsma Shipping has developed a low-emission shortsea freighter together with the design office Conoship. Also on board is the Hamburg-based shipping company Leonhardt & Blumberg, which, after almost two decades of abstinence, is returning to an old tradition with its re-entry into the coaster business and wants to establish a third mainstay. To date, the company has operated container ships and product tankers. [ds_preview]
Leonhardt & Blumberg returns to the shortsea sector
The up to eight newbuildings, four of which will initially be ordered from Chowgule Shipbuilding in India, are to be built at the new shipyard site in Mangalore. Construction could therefore start in the spring of next year at the earliest.
L&B and the Boomsma Group have joined forces as strategic partners for the order of the new shortsea freighters. JR Shipbrokers & Consultants acted as agent and broker for the newbuildings.
The vessels will have a deadweight capacity of 8,500 tons and will reportedly be extremely efficient in operation. An optimized diesel-electric propulsion system is also designed for the future use of alternative fuels. In addition, the coasters can be upgraded with an auxiliary wind propulsion system, a CCS system and batteries to further reduceCO2 emissions. Compared to today’s ships of this size, 50% – 60% less propulsion energy is required, they say.
Leonhardt & Blumberg builds up third mainstay
From fall 2025, the ships will be delivered to either Boomsma Shipping or L&B. They will then be chartered by NewTide Chartering in Rotterdam, a Boomsma Group company. A pool solution is planned for this. Boomsma is a family-run company that currently has ten ships in its fleet.
Until last year, L&B only had container ships (1,000 TEU-3,600 TEU) in its portfolio. However, the Hamburg-based shipping company then took advantage of the high second-hand prices and disposed of a number of ships. In return, initially three and later two more tankers were added to the fleet.
Two years ago, Torben Koelln, Managing Director of Leonhardt & Blumberg, said: “Shortsea shipping is where most of the innovations are taking place in order to make ships more energy-efficient and significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. Our group wants to be one of the early adopters of the new technologies and therefore invest in a state-of-the-art type of ship.”
