Shipping company Elbe-Ems has ordered a second Combi Freighter 3850 (CF 3850) from Damen Shipyards, following very positive experience with the vessel of the same type that they ordered before. The first, motor vessel Sophie is operating in European waters since September last year. The second, MV Jan Laurenz will be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year.

The contract for the second CF 3850 for Elbe-Ems was signed on 29 September at the Hamburg office of the ship operating company, which is a co-operation of ship owners Uniatlantico and Held Shipping. The new vessel will feature the same improved hull design and engine room configuration as MV Sophie. The CF 3850 standard design offers proven quality of construction, optimised hull form for impressive fuel economy at convincing performance as well as competitive pricing. This can be achieved thanks to building in series at the Damen Yichang Shipyard.

Elbe-Ems decided to order the second CF 3850 upon analysing the performance of MV Sophie after her maiden voyage from Shanghai, China to Hamburg. With the contract for this vessel signed on 18 May, Damen was able to deliver it from stock on 2 September the same year. “We are very happy with the performance of the CF 3850, MV Sophie,” says Elbe-Ems CEO Andreas Bergmann, who is also a partner in Uniatlantico. “The quality of the vessel and the fuel economy have convinced us to order another vessel of the same type. The cooperation with Damen has been quite pleasant during the whole process from order to delivery.” The contract for MV Jan Laurenz was signed on 29 September last year.

The vessel is built along with other vessels of the same design, in series at the Damen Yichang Shipyard. Standardisation and construction in series is a unique proposition by Damen. Quality of construction is guaranteed, while hull form, installed power and hold capacity have proven to deliver efficient performance. Series construction allows for competitive pricing of new-built vessels. The Damen Shipyard Group in the Netherlands is the contracting party. All arrangements for the construction as well as delivery, warranties and services are handled from the Dutch establishments of the shipyard group.