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Chinese shipbuilder Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard is the new winner of a multi-billion LNG-fuelled vessel contract ordered by German-based Nordic Hamburg and Finland's Containerships Ltd Oy for eight short-sea 1,400-TEU dual-fuel containerships.

A binding agreement was signed for the delivery of eight newbuild dual-fuel diesel-electric liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships. This includes four firm ship orders; with the option for a further four containerships. The charter framework agreement was signed in Helsinki, Finland.

The new ships are to primarily use LNG, but will also be able to burn conventional distillates and intermediate fuel oil (IFO). Each will have a cargo capacity of 639 units of 45-foot containers and are scheduled for delivery in August 2018 instead of 2017 as had been previously planned.

The owner and the technical manager will be GNS shipping/Nordic Harmburg, whilst Containerships will be chartering the ships and Arkon Shipping will be the commercial manager and the charter broker.

Commenting on the company's decision to invest in the dual-fuel engine technology two years ago, Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, CEO of Containerships, remarked: "We are a short-sea operator that is in it for the long haul, and these state-of-the art ships are just one part of our long-term strategy. In addition to offering the most ecologically sustainable solution, the intake capacity of these ships will allow us to keep meeting growing customer demand. And we're confident that both of our partners on this project have the know-how and the experience to deliver."

The Dragon-Class vessels are equipped with autonomous C-type bi-lobe tanks, which store 27,500 cubic metres of gasses, such as liquefied ethylene gas (LEG), LNG, ethane and liquid petroleum gas (LPG).