Rising Tonnage
With the classification of the gas tanker "MT Gaschem Nordsee," Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has passed the 80 million gross tons threshold. More than 6870 ships are currently surveyed on a regular basis by GL and, as a result, the fleet in service has grown by 10 million gross tons since September 2007.
The "MT Gaschem Nordsee," flying the German flag, was delivered in late March by Meyer shipyard in Papenburg. The LPG/ethylene tanker is the first of four gas tankers of the same hull type to be built in Germany by 2010 by the Meyer shipyard and its sister firm, Neptun Shipyard. The ship, with a gross tonnage of 13,878, can hold up to 17,000 m3 of liquefied gas in its cargo tanks. Besides LPG, the tanker is also designed for the transport of liquefied ethylene gas (LEG), a key chemical for the petrochemical industry. The "MT Gaschem Nordsee" will initially be deployed by Japan's Marubeni Group to transport liquefied gas to Asia.
Freighting and ship management for the "MT Gaschem Nordsee" will be handled jointly by Harpain Reederei GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture of Harpain Shipping and Hansa Hamburg Shipping International, and NSB Niederelbe Schifffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. NSB was founded in 1982 and currently manages 115 ship units, including six gas tankers deployed around the world. Harpain Shipping was founded in 1988 as a shipping company and ship's agent and specializes in ferries and cruise ships as well as the LPG and chemical gas sector. The companies have several ships classed with GL (www.gl-group.com).
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