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Swedish shipping company Erik Thun A.B. has granted Shipyard Ferus Smit the order to build an LNG-powered cargo vessel, with two more units on option. The first vessel is scheduled to be delivered in the autumn of 2015 from the shipyard in Westerbroek, Groningen.

North Europe and the Baltic region are the main markets for Erik Thun A.B. To further strengthen its position as a green shipping firm with the new SECA rules coming into force in 2015 for the Baltic, Thun says it believes LNG will be the way forward.

"For Ferus Smit shipyards it is a great challenge to build the first LNG powered short-sea dry cargo vessels to date. Many concepts and studies have been above the market already, but it will be down to the long-term cooperation between yard and ship owner to work out viable solutions that can be profitable in daily use," Ferus Smit said in a statement.

The ships will be bulk oriented general 5800 dwt cargo vessels, with the option to convert them into self-unloaders. They will be of iceclass 1A and suitable for year-round Baltic service. The vessels will be equipped with a Wartsila dual fuel main engine and a pressurized LNG tank enabling round trips of around 2 weeks. Classification will be carried out by Lloyds Register.