HGK Shipping is once again expanding its fleet with two innovative motorised tankers. It has placed another order for the two type C tankers with the Scheepsreparatiebedrijf De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard in the Dutch town of Druten. The realisation of the vessel concepts is another important step towards adopting a sustainable and innovative course within the HGK Shipping fleet, which already includes two vessels with alternative drive systems, the Gas 94 and the Synthese 18; the company is now becoming “ready for H2” thanks to the two other new ships.
The topic of ‘hydrogen’ is playing an extremely important role in the corporate strategy, in line with the HGK Shipping mission statement of “innovation & sustainability”. This is now clearly being reflected in a ship’s design for the very first time. Both the propulsion concept and the power management system as well as a so-called “void space” – i. e. an empty area in the centre of the two new structures, where hydrogen storage solutions can be installed in future – prove that HGK Shipping is getting “ready for H2”. The new vessels are due to be deployed in the Liquid Chemicals business unit and are specially tailored to meet the high customer demands for sustainability and innovation in this segment.
Norbert Meixner, Business Unit Director Liquid Chemicals, HGK Shipping, comments, “We’re continuing to expand our fleet at a completely new level with these two new ships. We’re convinced that hydrogen will be an important, if not even the energy source of the future. As a result, we’re already preparing our ships’ designs in such a way that they can be operated with hydrogen in future. We also have the option of using the void space in alternative ways, for example, installing batteries.”
The new vessels are due to go into service as early as in the first quarter of 2023. HGK Shipping has once again decided to work with the Dutch De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard, partly because of this challenging deadline. The shipyard has been involved in the design of the new vessel concept, which has now been signed and sealed in a contract, from the initial idea onwards; it was developed at HGK Shipping’s Design Center.
“A type C tanker with special tanks to transport highly corrosive media – optimised for operations in shallow water and ’ready of H2’: the fact that we can now finally implement this future-oriented concept is confirmation for all the colleagues at the Design Center of the course that we’ve been continually and deliberately pursuing for two years now. This outstanding project will lay the foundation for us to be able to handle hydrogen-powered drive systems in future,” says Tim Gödde, Business Unit Director Ship Management, HGK Shipping.
HGK Liquid Chemicals supplies various industrial sectors with light and heavy liquid chemicals and with non-hazardous liquids as a long-standing partner of the chemical industry. The tanker fleet in the corporate business unit transports approx. 6 million tonnes of liquid goods along the river Rhine and its tributaries, the north-west German canal system as well as in Belgium, France and the Netherlands every year.
