Short-sea container feeder operator BG Freight Line has unveiled its greenest ships yet with four new lo-lo vessels that will help its customers significantly reduce their carbon emissions.

The new ships will use a state-of-the-art scrubber to catch CO2 and sulphur particles, as well as having increased capacity for cargo which will result in a lower carbon footprint per container.

They are also equipped to handle biomethanol, allowing them to be powered by this sustainable fuel source as it becomes increasingly available in ports.

Named to reflect their striking colours, BG Green, BG Blue, BG Red, and BG Orange, the vessels are 170m long and can carry up to 1,380 containers - 300 more than the older ships in BG Freight Line’s fleet can carry.

Part of the Peel Ports Group, the UK’s second largest port operator, BG Freight Line’s new ships complement the Group’s ambition to become net-zero across its operations by 2040. 

With the ships servicing the container route between Liverpool and Rotterdam, BG Green is the first in operation, having made its maiden voyage from the Port of Liverpool on April 27, with the other vessels set to come into service later this year.

David Huck – Chief Operating Officer at Peel Ports Group, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Peel Ports and we are delighted to welcome these new ships, which are showing how green the maritime logistics sector can be.

“The innovation behind their design represents the future of sustainability in shipping, and we are proud to be a part of this. Shipping has always been the most sustainable and effective way to transport goods, but now with BG Freight Line’s new ships, it will be even more so.”

Koert Luitwieler, CEO – BG Freight Line, said: “We understand the importance of implementing measures in a bid to reduce our impact on the environment and we are doing this with our greenest ships yet.

“This investment underscores our commitment to sustainability, and we hope that by pioneering eco-friendly solutions we can set a new standard for sustainable shipping – one which makes it even more environmentally friendly than before when compared to other methods of cargo transport.”

BG Freight Line provide logistics services in the UK, Ireland (see related N. America story) and Europe, including door-to-door and quay-to-quay shipping for all types of containerised cargo.

The new ships build on Peel Ports Group’s strong track record of investing in greener logistics. It has already reduced Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions across its ports by a total of 32 percent, against its 2020 baseline. 

In 2021, Peel Ports announced its commitment to becoming a net-zero port operator by 2040, ten years ahead of the UK Government’s target, making it the first UK port operator to declare such ambitious decarbonisation plans.

As well as coinciding with Peel Ports aim of reaching net-zero by 2040, the new ships help deliver on the International Marine Organization’s (IMO) target of reducing total emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, with the IMO encouraging operators and shipping companies to utilise innovative technologies.[i]

[i] Click this link to the World Shipping Council website.