ESL Shipping is bolstering its fleet with a series of four fossil-free handysize bulker newbuilds. The company, part of Finnish conglomerate Aspo, will invest about €186m ($204m) in the quartet but said it has options to boost the orderbook with “several ships”. The new 150-m-long, 17,000 dwt vessels will be built in Nanjing, China at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard and be able to run on e-methanol. The vessels will enter service starting from the third quarter of 2027, with the last ship in the series delivering in the first quarter of 2028. ESL operates in the Baltic Sea region and, together with its Swedish subsidiary AtoB@C Shipping, has a fleet of around 50 bulkers. “This investment is fully aligned with Aspo’s portfolio vision and financial ambition. ESL Shipping aims to be at the forefront in supporting its industrial partners towards delivering entirely fossil-free products and services. This investment in fossil-free handy sized vessels is a natural step to take now, when the still ongoing investment in low-emission hybrid coasters has proven to be highly successful,” said Rolf Jansson, CEO of Aspo. Aspo added it would explore several ownership and financing options in connection with the order, to “accelerate business growth and expand the service”, including pooling. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsFinland