Stena Bulk’s fleet expansion plans for early 2022
May 2021

For Stena Bulk, partnerships and innovation are some of our founding principles. As such, we are fully committed to working with the very best partners across the industry - particularly those focused on future fuels and pioneering clean technology – in the areas of commercial and technological development. This approach is what gives us a genuine position of leadership in the market and keeps us flexible and responsive to be able to meet changing customer demands.

Today, I wanted to further discuss the new and exciting additions to our fleet that we will welcome in the first half of 2022.

As we’ve announced this week, in the new year, we will take two brand new ultra-modern eco Medium Range (MR) tankers on long term time charter from close Japanese partners. They will be named Stena Convoy and Stena Conductor, and they are currently being built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Stena Convoy and Stena Conductor are 50,000DWT vessels and will come in at 183m in length. They are also being fitted with scrubbers for reduced environmental impact, in line with our commitment with sustainability excellence. When delivered, the two ships will be nearly 20% more fuel-efficient than the first generation of eco vessels, and will become the most fuel-efficient MR tankers at sea.

Excitingly, Stena Convoy and Stena Conductor are just two of the five newbuilds that Stena Bulk will receive on charter in the first half of 2022.

In the same period, we wil also take delivery of the state-of-the-art IMOIIMeMAX methanol-fuelled 49,900 DWT vessel Stena Pro Patria. This vessel has a very special significance for us as it is the first of the three methanol-fuelled and carrying vessels to be built together with our partners and friends at Proman Shipping. As such, it marks the operational beginning of our joint venture with Proman, which in time will also see the delivery and operation of two additional vessels: Stena ProMare and Stena Prosperous.

Stena Pro Patria will benefit from several design and technical improvements to optimise energy and fuel efficiency, and its latest generation MAN dual-fuel engines will also feature revolutionary new water and fuel emulsion technologies to significantly reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The ship will use approximately 12,500 tonnes of methanol as fuel per year, which will significantly reduce the volume of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from its commercial operations, especially compared to the use of conventional marine fuels.

Combined, the addition of the new eco MRs and methanol-fuelled ships to our portfolio in the coming months demonstrates our commitment to intelligently scale up our fleet in line with the needs and demands of our global customer base, while pushing sustainability boundaries and leading the way for a future of clean shipping. As such, we will continue to embrace partnerships and innovation as the cornerstone of our growth strategy, because by doing so, we remain the strong, resilient and forward-thinking organisation that Stena Bulk is known as.

Gothenburg, May 2021
Erik Hånell, President & CEO at Stena Bulk