The 1,400 TEU-big vessel belonging to the Finnish short sea operator Containerships, part of CMA CGM, received its first batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Port of Rotterdam on 24 January.

Containerships Nord bunkered around 240t, which, according to her owners, will make it possible to embark on a round trip between Rotterdam and St. Petersburg, sailing through the Kiel Canal twice.

The ship-to-ship bunkering was performed by Shell with the use of the company's bunker vessel Cardissa. In the future, bunkering will be carried out at berth while simultaneously cargo will be loaded and discharged from the container carrier.

Containerships Nord started sailing from China towards Europe in mid-December 2018 and reached the European waters after passing the Suez Canal after two and half weeks. Her three sister vessels will follow the same route after their delivery later this year.

Containerships says its newbuilds will have an endurance of 14 days while sailing on LNG and they'll be bunkered once per round trip during their regular service loop between the North and Baltic Seas.

Photo: Containerships