Events

Sallaum Lines moves in on net-zero with newbuild PCTC Ocean Breeze

Ocean transportation company Sallaum Lines has shifted toward ordering LNG newbuilds, following initial reliance on second-hand vessels for its PCTC fleet, as part of an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero operational emissions by 2050.

“The decision to order newbuilds was driven by technical and environmental performance objectives, not by cost alone,” Charbel Khoueiry, maritime sustainability manager, says. “Sallaum Lines required vessels that could fully comply with IMO Tier III, the IGF Code, EEDI Phase 3 and forthcoming CII targets, while integrating dual-fuel LNG propulsion, electric vehicle-ready cargo decks and advanced hydrodynamic features.

“These parameters would have been impossible to achieve through retrofit without extensive structural and machinery compromises. Newbuilds designed from the keel up provide optimised hull efficiency, lower emissions and long-term lifecycle compliance with current and anticipated regulations.”

Consequently, Sallaum Lines is adding six large, dual-fuel LNG PCTC newbuilds to its fleet. The first duo in the series – the 199.9m, Ocean Breeze and Ocean Explorer – were designed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and constructed by Fujian Mawei Shipyard, with Ocean Breeze delivered in Q3 2025 and Ocean Explorer scheduled for delivery in Q1 2026. A further four PCTCs, designed by Deltamarin are currently under construction at China Merchants Heavy Industries (CMHI) and scheduled for delivery throughout 2026-2027.

Ocean Breeze runs on LNG, MGO and VLSFO, and can operate in LNG-only, fuel oil-only or dual-fuel modes, depending on prevailing voyage or port conditions. Khoueiry explains: “We selected LNG because it offers a proven, commercially available and technically mature, low-emission pathway that complies with current environmental regulations. It eliminates SOx and PM, reduces NOx by up to 80% through exhaust gas recirculation [EGR] and lowers CO₂ by approximately 20–25%.”

At a continuous sailing speed of 17knots, the vessel is estimated to achieve a range of approximately 12,600nm when operating on LNG, 3,000nm on MGO and 7,800nm on VLSFO. Taken together, the vessel’s total potential sailing range with full tank capacity is approximately 23,400nm.

The powertrain aboard Ocean Breeze incorporates a MAN B&W main engine, rated 12,614kW at 99rpm, and three auxiliary Wärtsilä 9L20DF engines, rated 1,613kW apiece, in addition to a 200kW emergency generator. “All machinery is installed in an aft engine room with segregated LNG and ventilation spaces, in accordance with the IGF Code and ABS requirements,” says Khoueiry.

The ship is also fitted with two Type C LNG storage tanks, each featuring the capacity for about 1,768m³ of LNG.

LNG is vaporised and supplied to the engines via a dual-pressure fuel gas supply arrangement, providing high-pressure gas at approximately 315bar to the main engine and low-pressure gas to the dual-fuel generator engines.

The PCTC is equipped with a single fixed-pitch propeller and a semi-balanced twisted rudder with bulb, developed by SDARI to enhance propulsive efficiency. The vessel is designed for a service speed of 18.5knots at design draught, allowing for a 15% sea margin.

The ship was classed by ABS, achieving full IGF, ENVIRO and operational notations. “Safety features include gas-tight LNG spaces, independent ventilation, double-walled gas piping, ESD systems, CO₂ fire protection and EV fire zones with continuous detection for the hydrogen/CNG vehicle areas,” says Khoueiry. This was accompanied by crew training in LNG handling, carried out in line with IMO/IGF Code competence standards.

As another green bonus, the ship has been treated with Chugoku Marine Paints’ SEAFLO NEO SLZ low-friction antifouling coating, developed to keep the hull continuously smooth, reducing hydrodynamic drag and fuel consumption and enabling higher vessel speeds.

New approach to shipbuilding with LSM deal

After decades of building purpose-designed and built ships that sometimes failed to meet requirements and often experienced significant cost overruns, the US Navy is pioneering a new approach to shipbuilding with its Landing Ship Medium (LSM) programme, an approach it hopes will enable it to quickly bring large numbers of newbuilds into service on time and on budget.

US Navy secretary John Phelan said the new approach adopted for the LSM procurement would be based on a “non-developmental design” that will not require significant adaptation.

The design selected by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Damen Shipyards Group’s LST100, has already been adopted by the Royal Australian Navy, for whom eight examples will be built in Australian yards, and will, said the Naval Sea Systems Command, “enable rapid fielding of this urgently needed capability… and shorten acquisition timelines”.

The LST100 was selected after a ‘side-by-side’ analysis of existing designs that had the potential to meet the LSM requirement. NAVSEA’s analysis of the designs was informed by technical data packages, augmented by hands-on ship visits. Up to 35 LSMs will now be built at US yards that will compete with one another for contracts to build the landing ships.

Speaking at the time that selection of the Damen design was announced, chief of naval operations Admiral Daryl Caudle said: “A year ago, the US Navy cancelled the LSM request for proposals, when the conceptual design produced bids that were simply unaffordable. We applied common sense, went back to basics, and reassessed the programme.

“We identified existing, proven designs that meet the concept of operations requirements, and then scrutinised them for producibility.”

Secretary Phelan said with the LSM decision the US Navy is “fundamentally reshaping how the Navy builds and fields its fleet”, making what he called an “operationally driven and fiscally disciplined choice”. He said with the LSM the US Navy has – for the first time – adopted what he described as a “build to print approach” that drives down cost, schedule and technical risks.

Commandant of the Marine Corps General Eric Smith said: “For the Marine Corps, the LST100 will provide an organic littoral capability in the Indo Pacific and around the world. It will provide us with a critical, inter-theatre manoeuvre asset that is able to embark and transport marines, weapons, supplies and equipment, without requiring access to a pier.”

The Secretary of the Navy described the LST100 as a 4,000tonne design, with a range of more than 3,400nm “that gives us the right balance of affordability, capability and speed”. General Smith said the LST 100’s cargo capacity, helicopter capacity and crane “make it an excellent choice for the Marine Corps’ requirement of no less than 35 medium landing ships to support naval expeditionary forces.”

Admiral Caudle said the US Navy “is incorporating a disciplined set of class standard equipment, so that the ships will be maintainable, repairable and able to meet operational availability targets”.

In July 2025, Damen received a technical data package award from NAVSEA for the LST100, and that design has now been selected as the basis for the LSM, all of which will be constructed at American yards.

The Dutch company describes the LST100 as 100.68m in length with a beam of 16m and a draught of 3.58m. Able to support a wide range of operations, with the ability to transport personnel, vehicles, equipment and cargo, the design has accommodation for 282 Marine Corps personnel.

The vessel can transit at speeds of up to 14knots, with an endurance speed of 10knots, and a range of up to 7,530nm. The LST100 is also a highly flexible unit, with a modular design that enables straightforward adaptation and upgrade without compromising the benefits of standardisation.

Somtrans' latest United bunker barge an international affair

December 2025 saw Belgian shipowner Somtrans christen its latest delivery, the estuary-class bunker barge United LNG I, in a ceremony hosted at the Port of Antwerp. The family-run company plans to put the barge into service in February 2026, where it will be used to fulfil growing demand for LNG bunkering in various Belgian and Dutch seaports, a spokesperson for Somtrans confirms.

The 135m x 21.46m vessel has been designed for both inland waterways and coastal service up to the Port of Zeebrugge. The barge’s construction was an international affair: the hull was built in China and then transported to the Netherlands for outfitting. Here, RensenDriessen, a shipyard-independent, Dutch newbuild projects specialist, acted as the main contractor, with Heusden-based TeamCo Shipyard overseeing tank integration, engineering and final outfitting of the vessel.

Italian engineering firm Gas and Heat, which specialises in designing and building cryogenic tank systems and LNG-fuel supply systems for maritime applications, supplied the barge’s eight cylindrical, single-walled Type C LNG tanks. Each LNG tank features a capacity of 1,000m³ and has been engineered to store this alt-fuel at -165°C, and with a boil-off rate of 0.30% per day.

The tanks are pressure-rated 400kPa. According to Somtrans, the tanks will remain closed during operations, monitored by pressure and temperature sensors, and will only require direct internal checks during the barge’s five-year class inspections. The vessel’s eight cargo pumps are each rated 165m³ per hour. The barge’s LNG bunker arm measures 25m in length and has a capacity of 920m³ per hour.

Somtrans says that the completion of United LNG I ndicates how the model of hull construction in China, followed by final outfitting in Western Europe, is becoming increasingly common in European shortsea shipping.

Wim Driessen, MD of RensenDriessen, comments: “By combining efficient hull construction in China with local outfitting in Western Europe, we are now offering our hull-building expertise more widely to the shortsea shipping segment. These cylindrical LNG tanks take this project into new territory: integrating them at this scale is unique. It shows what is possible when a shipowner, contractor and yard work as one team.” TeamCo Shipyard MD Marcel Zweers adds: “This was not a standard build. The LNG systems, the tank integration, the bunkering equipment, all demanded precision.”

United LNG I features a moulded depth of 7.5m and a draught of approximately 4m, and is arranged to accommodate a crew of six. Onboard tank capacities include: 5,113m³ of ballast water; 30m³ of fresh water; and approximately 39.7m³ of fuel oil, split between one fore tank (1.7m³) and two aft tanks (19m³ each). This latter arrangement reflects the positioning of the engines, which include four MAN Rollo LNG models, each rated 525kW, at the fore of the vessel and two 800kW diesel generators and a single 117kW auxiliary diesel generator at its aft. The barge also carries two battery packs, each rated 200kWh.

Propulsion-wise, the barge incorporates two main azimuth thrusters, rated 1,305kW apiece and featuring propeller diameters of 1,900mm. These are complemented by a pair of 550kW bow thrusters.

Somtrans is now expecting delivery of a second sister barge, also under build at TeamCo Shipyard, aligned to plans to extend its bunkering capacity within the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region. “This comes as LNG bunker demand in Northwest Europe continues to expand, driven by new dual-fuel tonnage in the container, tanker, bulk, ro-ro and cruise segments,” the Somtrans spokesperson explains. “The global fleet of LNG-fuelled vessels continues to grow by double digits each year, driven by owners seeking cleaner operations and reliable access to alternative fuels.”

TeamCo Shipyard’s Zweers says that outfitting of the forthcoming sister, United LNG II, will commence in March 2026.

ZeroUSV's Oceanus17 USV builds on core values

Already under construction at Manor Marine, with a scheduled launch date of June 2026, the first Oceanus17 will “have a flavour of the military about it, but be very much a dual-role vessel,” Matthew Ratsey, founder and MD of ZeroUSV, says. “The feedback we’re getting from wind farm service operators is that they want to increasingly use remote-operated vehicles [ROVs], and the Oceanus17 can function as a ‘mothership’ to launch and recover ROVs, and as a ‘comms node’, tracking the ROVs’ positions when they are deployed – which has massive benefits in not losing a single ROV.”

Ratsey adds that ZeroUSV was recently approached by a company that manages the offshore facilities for several energy majors, with a view to using a fleet of USVs to deliver post and spares to these sites, as a cost-efficient alternative to expensive helicopter hire. This is a task the forthcoming Oceanus17 could easily handle given its aft deck payload capacity of 4tonnes, Ratsey points out.

Oceanus17 will comprise an all-aluminium, 16.97m x 3.17m monohull with the ability to maintain range for more than 50 days.

One of ZeroUSV’s goals was to “compress traditional defence acquisition timelines”, where the journey from design to prototype can roll on for years, Ratsey notes. So, for the Oceanus17, ZeroUSV chose to use a ‘spiral development process’, accelerating the design, engineering and build phase by basing the new model heavily on the Oceanus12 – essentially treating the existing USV as a ‘building block’ for the newer, bigger model.

Ratsey elaborates: “We’ve taken most of the core engineering we used for the Oceanus12 – what we know works and is reliable – and asked ourselves, what is the biggest vessel we can build with this engineering package? This includes the engines, the batteries, the battery chargers and the generators used in the Oceanus12 – we designed enough capacity into those components the first time around, we can reuse them in the Oceanus17.”

Another benefit of the spiral development process is that, by using the same components as the Oceanus12, end users can utilise the same spares packages with the newer model. USV familiarisation is another bonus. The biggest boon, though, from a USV manufacturer’s perspective, is perhaps the ability to speed up necessary certification. Ratsey explains: “The fact that we’re using 95% of the same equipment from the Oceanus12 on the Oceanus17 means that, when we come to enter the Maritime and Coastguard Agency [MCA] Workboat Code 3 process, all our current mitigations and submissions are transferrable – they just apply to a slightly larger version of the vessel.”

The Oceanus17’s payload bay will measure 9m x 2.8m, and will have the capacity to accommodate a 20’ container, with power and data connection points. The USV will also feature Starlink and Iridium connectivity and will incorporate an autonomous software package provided by ZeroUSV’s long-term partner Marine AI – rated to level 4 autonomy, but future-proofed for further upgrades. In addition to the boat’s primary sensors, customers will be able to select FLIR thermal IP cameras and W-band HD radar, among other options.

While Manor Marine puts the USV together, working with materials and components pre-issued by ZeroUSV, an independent contractor will oversee the boat’s electrical fit-out. If all goes to plan, the Oceanus17 will be launched in time for this year’s Seawork expo, to be hosted in Southampton, UK between 9-11 June. Then, in July, the boat will be certified by MECAL to meet the MCA Workboat Code 3, Annex II requirements for uncrewed vessels and unlimited operations.