Long-established ship management company Reederei Wessels recently made the same purchase as its even older near neighbour HS Shipping Group, both ordering two Damen Combi Freighter 3850 (CF 3850) vessels.
The shipyard says that the choice was underpinned by the vessels’ performance in relation to loading capacity, speed maintained and economical fuel consumption.
Reederei Wessels, which specialises in short-sea shipping, manages a current fleet of 20 vessels including some in third party management. HS Schiffahrt operates 59 vessels, ranging from ocean going container vessels, bulkers, mini-bulkers and general cargo vessels. The company executes technical and commercial management of their vessels for charterers.
Over the past decades, Damen has delivered new built container feeders and combi freighters to HS Schiffahrt. Reederei Wessels has had good experiences and successful operations with the CC 125 general cargo vessels ordered from Damen, the predecessor of the CF 3850.
Damen Cargo Vessels sales manager Remko Bouma said: “The positive experiences of these ship owners with Damen are very encouraging. We believe that with the new CF 3850, we can offer a general purpose vessel that performs extremely well. Their belief in this concept and the previous experiences, have made the co-operation with both Ems-based companies very pleasant.”
This newly designed general cargo vessel, of 3850 dwt, measuring 89.7m length overall and 12.5m beam is capable of maintaining more than 10 knots of speed in headwinds when fully loaded. Redesigned hydrodynamic properties of the hull shape enable this performance, demanding less power than comparable vessels and so is equipped with a smaller engine, consuming significantly less fuel.
As short sea shipping has returned to steady profitability following several years of tight markets, ship owners see the time fit for fleet renewal. Most short sea vessels are over 10 years old, during which time EU and IMO environmental demands have become stricter. The CF 3850 Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) rating means it can live up to current and future emission standards. making it a sound investment.
Damen says its short sea vessels are being ordered in large numbers by a variety of clients. There are now four of these vessels with the upgraded design in operation, with 13 on order. They will be built in series at the Damen Yichang Shipyard in China.
