Grieg Maritime Group of Norway has signed a contract for up to four ammonia-ready, 82,300 dwt Open Hatch vessels for delivery in 2026 from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue yard in China.
With a capacity of over 82,000 dwt, the new ships will dwarf the 50,800 dwt L-class, previously the latest and largest vessels in the Grieg Maritime Group fleet.
CEO Grieg Maritime Group Matt Duke said: “This class of vessels shows we are serious about climate action and plan to stay a leading player in the Open Hatch segment. We are delighted with the design and specifications of these ships.”
The contract is for two vessels, with an option for a further two. The ships will be ammonia ready with a MAN B&W 5S60ME engine and prepared for tanks holding 3,000m3 of ammonia on deck. Length overall is 225m, with a beam of 36m and a draught of 13.85m. The design will meet EEDI Phase 3 and has been developed with input from Grieg Shipbrokers and G2 Ocean.
Han Jianbing, Deputy GM CSSC Huangpu Wenchong said: “On behalf of CSSC Huangpu Wenchong, I would like to express my gratitude to the Grieg for their trust and support, and we are excited to receive this new order of 2+2 82,300 dwt MPVs which marks the first order of this size at our shipyard and look forward to working with the Grieg Maritime Group and establishing a long-term and good cooperative relationship.”
Grieg Maritime Group is committed to the Norwegian Shipowner’s Association‘s climate targets. A part of that is to only order ships with zero-emission technology from 2030.
Head of Shipowning Grieg Maritime Group, Nicolai Grieg said: “These vessels are halfway there, as they give us the flexibility to be close to emission-free as soon as the fuels are available. The design doesn’t tie us to just one fuel but lets us keep our options. We believe in ammonia for these ships. However, we can also look to methanol or carbon capture depending on how the technology develops.”
The ship design is suited for the G2 Ocean pulp trade with eight holds and four electro-hydraulic swing cranes with an individual capacity of 75 tonnes. When lifting in tandem, the cranes can handle cargo of up to 105t. Internally, the vessels have been dubbed ‘PulpMax’. All ships will be DNV classed and sail under the Norwegian NIS flag, with Bergen as the home port.
