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Concordia Maritime's first chemical and product tanker based on the IMOIIMAX concept, the Stena Image [pictured], was named at the Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Ltd. (GSI) facility in Guangzhou on Thursday, April 14. The vessel is a 50,000-deadweight-tonne (dwt) medium range (MR) tanker and is a further development of a concept that is said to offer low fuel consumption and high cargo flexibility.

"The delivery of the Stena Image marks the beginning of a new era for Concordia Maritime. We already have a high-quality and well-balanced fleet, but with the addition of the IMOIIMAX vessels, which are the next generation of chemical and product tankers, our offer will be even more sophisticated and attractive in tomorrow's exciting product tanker market," commented Kim Ullman, CEO of Concordia Maritime, in a statement.

More than a hundred guests gathered in a rainy Guangzhou to attend the naming ceremony for the Stena Image. The vessel's godmother, Selma Olsson Åkefeldt, MD, PhD, the daughter of Dan Sten Olsson, the Stena group's principal owner, named the vessel and finished with the words: "May God bless and protect all who sail on her."

Now the tanker, with Captain Jaroslaw Aniszewski and his crew on board, has left the shipyard in Guangzhou to sail on its maiden voyage from the Far East to Europe.

"The IMOIIMAX concept is based on what is already a well-established commercial reality where there is now an even greater focus on cargo flexibility and lower energy consumption, two factors that are a guarantee for both commercial and technical success," added Ullman.

Stena Teknik and GSI have together implemented a number of solutions that are said to have enabled fuel consumption - when sailing at service speed - to be reduced by 10-20 percent compared with other vessels of the same size. Additionally, the vessels have 18 different tanks of 3,000 cubic metres (cbm) each so that they can transport full IMO2 cargoes and combine both vegetable oils, chemicals and petroleum products, thus offering logistical flexibility.

Another sister vessel and Concordia Maritime-owned tanker, the Stena Important, is expected to be delivered in October 2015. The order for the two IMOIIMAX tankers was placed in 2012 and represents a total investment of approximately US$78 million.

Both IMOIIMAX tankers are to sail in Stena Weco's global logistics systems, which already employ some 60 vessels.

Photo: Stena Image