JR Shipping selects Indian yard for new shortsea dry cargo carriers

Netherlands-based JR Shipping Group has placed an order for two diesel-electric shortsea dry cargo vessels with Indian shipbuilder Chowgule and Company.

The two vessels will form part of a series of eight that have been commissioned together with Dutch shortsea specialist Boomsma Shipping and in close cooperation with German shipping company Leonhardt and Blumberg.

JR Shipping will take delivery of ships numbers six and eight in the series, which will be designed by Conoship International in the Netherlands. The delivery of ship number six is scheduled for the end of June 2027 and ship number eight will follow at the end of February 2028.

Each ship will have a deadweight of 8,500, a total hold capacity of 13,900 cubic metres, and four Volvo generators fitted with selective catalytic reduction technology to comply with IMO Tier III NOx emissions standards.

JR Shipping expects that the new ships will be able to generate between 50 and 90 per cent fewer emissions compared to vessels of similar size.

This order also marks JR Shipping's return to the dry cargo sector.

The group’s activity in the short sea dry cargo vessel market was paused in 2019 following the sale of the last 5,000DWT ships in its fleet. However, returning to this market has remained an objective for the company.