#dAmicoEcoShips - Dublin based d’Amico International Shipping S.A. (DIS) announced the recent launch of two eco-ships at the shipyards of Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard Co. Ltd in Vietnam, bringing the fleet to a record number of over 50 units.

The operator DIS is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange and provides services in the international transport market of refined products and vegetable oils. For previous newbuild news click here. 

The launch on 6 October of newbuilds Cielo di Ulsan, a handysize Ice Class of 39,000 tons and High Trader, a medium range 50,000 tons product tanker showcase innovative design.

The Eco-Ships aim at offering incredible versatility in type of transport, elevated performance in terms of energy efficiency and consumption and an impressive reduction of emissions. This will allow these newbuilds to already meet international standards that will come into force in 2025.

With the addition of the two ships, the DIS fleet now comprises 51.83 double-hull tankers, with an average age of 7,6 years, of which 25.33 vessels owned and 26.50 chartered (decimal numbers due to ships in joint ventures with other companies).
The two eco-ships, worth a total of more than 62 million dollars, are a part of the maxi 755 million dollar investment plan that DIS launched in 2012 and which includes, to date, a total of 22 high performance vessels, of which 10 already delivered.

DIS already assigned the ships to two major international oil companies at the time of the order, under time-charter contracts, one lasting 30 months and the other three years, managing to anticipate the extraordinary global demand in the transport of refined petroleum products, today favoured both by the transfer of refineries (from the main consuming regions to oil production areas) and the decreasing of crude oil prices.

Cielo di UIsan is built with structures allowing navigation in presence of ice, and features equipment and systems capable of withstanding temperatures as low as -20°C. This 183m long and 29m wide handysize vessel will be used above all for routes in Northern Europe, the Arctic and the Northern Sea. This is the first model of a group of 4 ships that will join the DIS fleet, resulting from the joint work of the engineers of the d’Amico Group and the shipyard of Hyundai Vinashin.

High Trader, 183m long and 32m wide, is instead the “twin” of two other vessels already delivered to DIS and highly appreciated by oil companies for their ability to guarantee average savings of 6 tons of fuel per day (with ship fully loaded and a constant speed of 14 knots) and consequently a 20% reduction in Co2 emissions.

Moreover, the profit ability of the ship is driven by its great commercial versatility: High Trader can in fact carry up to nine different types of cargo during the same trip. Cielo di Ulsan and High Trader are equipped with systems for the treatment of ballast water so as to minimise the impact on marine ecosystems and comply with IMO3 and IMO2 requirements. DIS has currently other 12 new eco-ships, including 3 Handysize, 3 medium-range and 6 LR1, under construction.

Management commentary

Marco Fiori, Chief Executive Officer of d’Amico International Shipping commented: ‘We have added two more ships of great construction quality to our young fleet, which are capable of offering our customers safety, efficiency and profitability. In this context, the partnership with the shipyards of Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard has proven to be strategic for the development of our fleet, which today reaches the record number of ships in the history of d’Amico International Shipping.”

He added, “This extremely positive moment on the market and increasingly close relations with major oil companies and multinational manufacturers of vegetable oils, which request our ships more and more often, confirm that DIS has taken the right route. With the addition of other 12 eco-ships currently under construction by 2018, we will further consolidate our competitive position on the global shipping market that today already sees us among the leaders.”