HGK builds H2 powered units
Duisburg-based HGK Shipping is expanding its fleet with two technically innovative Type C motor tankers. The shipyard Scheepsreparatiebedrijf De Gerlien van Tiem in Druten, the Netherlands, has once again won the building contract. The last units built for HGK were two ships with alternative propulsion, the "Gas 94" and the "Synthese 18".
The two current newbuildings add the use of hydrogen fuels to the company's strategy. Technically, both the propulsion concept and the power management system as well as a so-called "void space" - i.e. an empty space in the midships of the two newbuildings in which hydrogen storage solutions can be installed in the future - are core components of the new drive system.
The new ships will be used in the liquid chemicals sector. The commissioning of the additions to the fleet is scheduled for Q1/2023. The company's tanker fleet for this segment transports a combined total of around 6 million t of liquid goods annually on the Rhine and its tributaries, in the northwest German canal region, as well as in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. (cd)