Shipper EPS orders 11 hybrid propulsion car carriers, plans ammonia dual-fuel ship

Singapore-headquartered Eastern Pacific Shipping has opted for hybrid propulsion systems for 11 new Pure Car and Truck Carrier vessels and has also separately inked an agreement with other maritime players for an ocean-going ammonia dual-fuel gas tanker as it makes further advances to expedite maritime decarbonization.

EPS's 11 new PCTC ships will be equipped with Wartsila's hybrid solution, the global technology group said in a statement on June 7, adding that the system to be supplied will include in-line shaft generators, converters, an energy storage system, and Wartsila's energy management system for controlling the hybrid operations.

Not only will the system help to optimize fuel efficiency and minimize emissions, but it will effectively provide futureproofing for the vessels since it has the built-in flexibility to adapt to future technology shifts, Wartsila said.

These may come in the form of alternative fuels, greater battery capacity, solar panels, or fuel cell operation, it said.

The 200 meter-long, 18,600 deadweight ton vessels will be capable of carrying 7,000 cars and are expected to be delivered commencing in 2024, it said.

EPS's latest move comes after the company said last month that it was set to retrofit two medium-range tankers with carbon capture systems, making them the largest ocean-going vessels fitted with carbon capture technology to date.

Ammonia as marine fuel

The shipping company has also inked an agreement with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and American Bureau of Shipping for an ocean-going ammonia dual-fuel gas tanker.

"We believe that our industry will need to rely on multiple solutions to steadily lower and eventually eliminate emissions... The use of ammonia as a marine fuel is the next logical step for EPS and the industry," EPS CEO Cyril Ducau said in a statement on June 6.

According to the agreement, "the dual fuel ammonia tanker could be either midsize gas carrier(s), large gas carrier(s), or very large gas carrier(s) and could be delivered as early as 2025," EPS said.

In June 2021, the company joined a study with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to explore the use of ammonia as an alternative marine fuel. As part of this study, EPS lent its expertise in the loading, transporting, and discharging of gas, including ammonia, as a cargo.