The new tanker Fure Viten left the Yangzhou shipyard on 22 June 2021. The 17,999dwt tanker has a cargo capacity of 20,300 cubic meters. It is a milestone for Swedish Furetank Rederi AB, but also an international flagship concerning environment and climate.

The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulates emissions from new vessels through the EEDI energy efficiency design index, where a lower value means less emissions.

Today, the requirement for a vessel the size of Fure Viten is to reach below 9.37 points, but Fure Viten reached a value as low as 4.65 points: the best result achieved in the size segment so far.

The ships built today will be in service for the coming 20 years, so great effort has been made into investigating what is the best possible technology that we can invest in.

Fure Viten is the latest vessel in a series of eight vessels, out of which Furetank owns four and commercially operates all.

The series is designed by Furetank and FKAB Marine Design in collaboration with Wärtsilä, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption as much as possible.

Throughout the design and construction process, energy efficiency has been increased and the EEDI value has been improved.

Batteries help reduce the use of auxiliary engines, a ducted propeller increases thrust and reduces power requirement, an improved hull shape minimizes drag, and the main engine and shaft generator use variable frequency to increase propeller efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.

The eight dual-fuel vessels will be operated with LBG (liquefied biogas) or LNG (liquefied natural gas). Gas propulsion provides major climate, environmental and health benefits compared to oil.

In combination with the technical optimisations, emissions of climate-affecting carbon dioxide have been reduced by 55% compared to older vessels and eutrophic nitrogen oxide (NOx) by 86%. Emissions of acidifying sulfur oxide (SOx) and hazardous particles (PM) are basically completely eliminated.

Fure Viten and preceding sister vessel Fure Vinga are the first tankers in Europe that are fully equipped to operate the energy-demanding cargo pumps with 6.6 kV high voltage shore power. This will reduce emissions even further as soon as ports offer the opportunity.

The solution is being developed in collaboration with the ports of Gothenburg and Rotterdam, currently in the process of developing the full capacity power connection required to operate the pumps.

With the delivery of Fure Viten, the average carbon dioxide emissions from Furetank’s intermediate fleet have been decreased by 50% compared to 2008. Already today the vessel series fulfills its part of the IMO’s total emission target for the world fleet: to halve emissions up to year 2050.