Botnia Enabler, the first of two multi-fuel ConRo ships designed by Knud E. Hansen, was delivered to Gothenburg, Sweden-based Wallenius SOL today.
“We’re incredibly pleased and proud to welcome Botnia Enabler to our fleet,” said Wallenius SOL managing director Ragnar Johansson. “The delays we suffered along the way are no secret, so finally seeing her leave port on her maiden voyage is a fantastic feeling. She’s been eagerly awaited by us and our customers.”
The ship is the world’s largest ice-rated multi-fuel ConRo, with a length of 242 meters, a beam of 35.2 meters, and a cargo capacity of 5,800 lane meters. Before returning to Europe and the Gulf of Bothnia, she would load cargo in two Chinese ports. Botnia Enabler is expected to arrive in Antwerp, Belgium, at the end of June, according to projections. On the Zeebrugge-Antwerp-Kokkola-Skellefte-Oulu-Kemi-Travemünde route, she will thereafter join regular traffic. When compared to the ship now covering the route, container carrying capacity will grow by nearly 300 percent, from 336 TEU to 1000 TEU, and RO/RO capacity will increase by nearly 100 percent.
The Botnia Enabler is significantly more energy-efficient per transported unit than older vessels, and according to calculations by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute IVL, will reduce not only greenhouse gas emissions on her route by 63 percent per transported unit, but also NOx (96%), SOx (99%) and particulates (99%). (99 per cent).
Baltic Enabler, her sister ship, will be delivered later this summer.
