Grieg Maritime lifts option for two more ammonia-ready open hatch bulkers

Norwegian shipowner Grieg Maritime Group has exercised options for two additional ammonia-ready open hatch bulk carriers taking the total to four ships.

The option was part of the contract signed in May this year with CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue in China which included two firm plus two optional 82.300 dwt open hatch vessels slated for delivery in 2026.

The company now confirmed that the option was lifted last week bringing the tally to four units.

With a carrying 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.

Grieg Maritime said in May that the ships would be ammonia-ready with a MAN B&W 5S60ME engine and prepared for tanks holding 3,000 m3 of ammonia on deck. Length overall is 225 meters, with a beam of 36 meters and a draft of 13,85. The design will meet the EEDI Phase 3 and has been developed with input from Grieg Shipbrokers and G2 Ocean.

In addition, the company decided to change the crane set-up. As disclosed, each ship will have two center VFD fully electric cranes that will be able to lift 120 metric tons each, with a tandem of 240 metric tons. Front and aft, the ships will have two 75 metric tons VFD fully electric cranes.

In addition, they will feature tween decks in the middle holds, and all ships will be shore-power ready.

Grieg Maritime has also decided to upgrade to the newest MAN 10.6 engines, which integrate a new type of control system and higher cylinder pressure for a fuel performance of approximately 3.5% better than the 10.5 from MAN Engines – A Business Unit of MAN Truck & Bus SE.

Grieg Maritime Group said that as part of its commitment to the Norwegian Shipowner’s Association‘s climate targets, it will only order ships with zero-emission technology from 2030.

The ships have been described as ‘ideally suited’ for the G2 Ocean pulp trade, and internally, the vessels have been dubbed “PulpMax”.

All ships will be DNV classed and have the Norwegian NIS flag, with Bergen as the home port.