Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) has ordered two more crew transfer vessels (CTVs) from the Strategic Marine shipyard in Singapore.
The order increases the French shipping company’s CTV fleet from five to seven vessels. The newbuildings, each 27 meters long and of the StratCat 27 type, will be sister ships to the CTVs “Acti’Vent” and “Esti’Vent”. They will be able to transport 24 passengers to offshore wind farms. Delivery is planned for the beginning of 2025.
Louis Dreyfus expands offshore business
“These new orders are part of our strategy to expand our business with renewable offshore wind farms in France and Europe,” says Gaël Cailleaux, Managing Director for Renewable Energies at Louis Dreyfus.
“We are confident that these vessels will improve both operational efficiency and safety for our customer,” said Chan Eng Yew, CEO of Strategic Marine. “Since their launch, our StratCat 27s have been successfully deployed in key European markets, as well as in fast-growing Asian markets such as Taiwan and Korea”.
Shipping company relies on wind
With the expansion of its CTV fleet, the shipping company is continuing to invest in a growing industry. In France alone, the European Commission recently approved a program worth €10.82bn for the expansion of wind energy.
Louis Dreyfus is also increasingly focusing on wind energy itself. For example, the RoRo freighter “Ville de Bordeaux” has been sailing with additional sails since March of this year, while the juice tanker “Atlantic Orchard” has been using them since last December. The so-called “eSAILS” should be able to reduce the ships’ fuel consumption by up to 10%.
