Colombo Dockyard secures order to build 6 Eco bulk carriers for Norwegian firm

5000DWT bulk carrier

Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) is moving towards executing an already signed contract with Misje Eco Bulk AS (Misje), a Norwegian company, to build six firm plus four optional Eco bulk carriers. 

The contracts were signed on March 14, 2020 but were scheduled to come into effect only in the month of September 2020, with the owners’ final board approval.

Misje Eco Bulk AS is a fully-owned subsidiary of KåreMisje& Co., a family-owned Norwegian company, which holds a group of companies that provides a complete package of services from chartering and operation to technical and financial management. 

These 89.95m-long vessels are designed to hold a cargo capacity of 5000 DWT. The type of cargo they could carry includes bulk cargo, grain, timber, unit loads and containers. Each vessel is powered by a four-stroke diesel engine, with an electric hybrid system supplying additional power through a 
battery system.

These vessels are developed as eco-friendly vessels, as they have lower emissions compared to conventional bulk carriers of the same size. The concept and the basic design of the innovative bulk carriers are developed by Wartsila Ship Design Norway AS and the detailed designing will be carried out by CDPLC. 

The first vessel of the series is scheduled to be delivered in 18 months and the subsequent vessels will be delivered in four-month intervals. 

Amidst the negative impacts from last year’s Easter Sunday incident and currently facing the COVID-19 pandemic, it showcases the successful marketing efforts carried out by CDPLC in a challenging environment. 

CDPLC has been targeting the European market extensively, especially for the construction of eco-friendly bulkers, cable-laying and repairing vessels, service operation vessels, etc., which are in demand and CDPLC is extremely confident of serving these emerging requirements in Europe, with the capacity and experience CDPLC has gathered over the past four and half decades of shipbuilding expertise.

In addition, this illustrates CDPLC’s reputation internationally, of being one of the most competitive and dynamic shipbuilding and ship repairing facility in the South Asia region. 

CDPLC has a 35 percent shareholding by the Sri Lankan government institutions and as the leader of the shipbuilding industry in Sri Lanka, CDPLC continuously proves its excellence through successful securing and execution of shipbuilding projects worldwide and is one of the frontrunners of Sri Lankan industrialisation.