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Hamburg-headquartered Rickmers Group has decided to modernize a significant part of its fleet on the basis of an agreement with a charter customer, which is expected to result in lower bunker costs.

According to Rickmers, over 70 percent of the ship operating costs borne by its charter customers stem from bunker consumption. The energy-efficiency improvement measures are said to represent a combined investment volume of around USD 50 million.

In a statement, Rickmers said: "They [the measures] will be carried out in close agreement and with a very significant cost participation of the customer, respectively, and comprise modifications to the respective ships ranging from fitting a new bulbous bow to changing the screw type. Moreover, with a view to achieving further optimisations an increase in container capacity on these ships is planned: this is to be achieved by reengineering load-securing systems, strengthening hatch covers and switching to new loading software, amongst other measures."

While the charterer is to benefit from bunker-cost savings, Rickmers Group points out that the planned changes will also directly raise the attractiveness of its fleet.

"This not only increases chartering options in the long term but also considerably raises the value of the ships themselves," Rickmers said.

Rickmers Group CEO, Dr Ignace Van Meenen, commented: "Energy efficiency and lower bunker consumption are key factors in our fleet's competitiveness. Intelligent retrofitting measures bring existing ships close to the latest technological standards, meaning that newbuilds are not always necessary - something that our long-standing customers value very highly."

Rickmers Group CFO, Professor Dr Mark-Ken Erdmann, added: “Our investment strategy not only comprises investments in energy-efficient ships, such as those involved in the transaction of 3 x 9,300 TEU vessels announced last week, but also intentionally represents value-adding platform investments in our existing tonnage. This will pay off, also in terms of our long-term portfolio management and our balance sheet.”