VESSEL REVIEW | Lem Azalea & Lem Plumeria – Methanol dual-fuel Ultramax bulkers for Lemissoler Navigation
Cyprus-based shipping company Lemissoler Navigation has taken delivery of the first two vessels in its four-ship programme of methanol dual-fuel Ultramax bulk carriers, both of which will operate under charter to Cargill.
The Portuguese-flagged 65,000DWT sisters Lem Azalea and Lem Plumeria were built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) subsidiary Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding together with China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC) to a design developed by CSSC’s Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI). The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) provided classification and technical guidance.
Lemissoler said SDARI drew on the owner's operational requirements to shape the design and carry out its detailed engineering. SDARI has meanwhile described the pair as the first methanol dual-fuel Ultramax bulk carriers to be developed within China. The design was reported to indicate performance beyond EEDI Phase III requirements.
The construction contract with Huangpu Wenchong and CSTC was signed in May 2024 and was reported as covering four firm vessels plus options for four more.
Design permitting greater cargo-carrying flexibility
Each vessel has an LOA of 199.9 metres (655.8 feet), a length between perpendiculars of 196.5 metres (644.7 feet), a moulded beam of 32.26 metres (105.8 feet), a moulded depth of 19 metres (62 feet), and a moulded draught of 13.65 metres (44.78 feet). ABS records gave a design deadweight of approximately 65,023 and an estimated gross tonnage of 38,218.
Cargo capacity is 79,467.1 cubic metres (2.806 million cubic feet), with ballast capacity of 35,405.5 cubic metres (7.788 million gallons), freshwater capacity of 789.74 cubic metres (173,720 gallons) and lube oil capacity of 156.74 cubic metres (34,478 gallons). The vessels also each have a crew complement of 25.
The ships are built to the Common Structural Rules and carry the BC-A notation with holds two and four permitted to be empty, allowing alternate-hold loading of high-density cargoes. A GRAB [20] notation covers grab discharge with grabs of up to 20 tonnes.
Additional class notations include ✠A1, ESP, ✠AMS, ✠ACCU, CPS-B and AB-CM, with additional notations BWE, BWT, CRC(SC, SP), ENVIRO, IHM, PMA, POT, RRDA, RW, TCM and UWILD.
Fitted with energy-saving features
The vessels' propulsion arrangement carries the LFFS(DFD-Methanol) notation, which denotes a low flashpoint-fuelled ship. Lemissoler said the vessels can use conventional marine fuel or methanol, and can adapt as lower-carbon fuel becomes more available. Methanol is carried in two tanks of 1,200 cubic metres (260,000 gallons) each.
A RENK shaft generator is driven from the free end of the dual-fuel main engine rather than through a conventional shaft-mounted or gearbox PTO arrangement. The project partners said this layout makes more efficient use of engine room space and energy.
Onboard lighting draws power from an auxiliary lithium battery to help lower total energy consumption. ABS also recorded the vessels as fitted with exhaust gas cleaning and exhaust gas recirculation equipment to help further reduce emissions.
The hull lines were refined using CFD for selected operating profiles, and the stern arrangement combines an MAN Kappel propeller, a propeller boss cap fin and an asymmetric fan duct ahead of the propeller. A vertical bow and streamlined accommodation block are intended to reduce wind resistance.
The design also specifies cargo cranes that are fully electric and use variable-frequency drives. Lemissoler said these help generate 25 per cent greater energy savings during cargo operations compared to traditional electrohydraulic cranes.
The owner also claimed that daily fuel consumption is around 35 per cent lower than "the model vessel of the BSI" while the cargo intake is around 12 per cent higher.
Lemissoler said Lem Azalea and Lem Plumeria will help advance its aim of reaching “net-zero” emissions by 2045.
