Fuel supply systems provider Auramarine will deliver diesel fuel oil (DFO) and liquid biofuel (LBO) supply systems to Finnish shipping group Meriaura.
The Auramarine fuel supply systems will be used onboard two Meriaura newbuild EcoTrader vessels. The vessels are being constructed at the Royal Bodewes yard in the Netherlands. The systems will be manufactured at Auramarine’s Shanghai factory with deliveries to the shipyard in May 2025 and March 2026. The fuel supply systems will supply fuel oil to the engine and help ensure the fuel meets the set temperature and viscosity requirements.
The EcoTraders are 105 m long, 1A ice-classed 6,750 dwt vessels. Like the carrier’s EcoCoaster vessels Eeva VG and Mirva VG delivered in 2016, the new EcoTraders can be operated with biofuel made from recycled raw material produced by Meriaura’s subsidiary VG-Ecofuel. The newbuilds will be approximately 30 percent larger than the EcoCoasters.
Beppe Rosin, ceo at Meriaura, said the company has, “set an ambitious goal to reach carbon neutrality within the 2030s. Instead of adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to potential future alternative fuel solutions, we have proactively developed our own biofuel and invested in technology that enables its use on our vessels.”
HLPFI reported in April 2024 that Meriaura placed the newbuild order. The contract value is approximately EUR34 million (USD36.1 million). 20 percent of the vessel investment is self-financed, and 80 percent is financed with external capital.
