Press Release from 2023-05-30 / KfW IPEX-Bank
KfW IPEX-Bank: Financing for low-water chemical tanker Stolt Ludwigshafen
- The ship’s innovative design, including special lightweight construction, allows high payloads even during extreme low water on the river Rhine
- BASF and Stolt Tankers introduce the innovative tanker during ship christening ceremony - operations for BASF began end of April 2023
- The Stolt Ludwigshafen will make a crucial contribution to securing the supply of materials and competitiveness of BASF’s Ludwigshafen site
On May 26, 2023, the new low-water inland tanker Stolt Ludwigshafen was christened at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site. The innovative ship is the result of a successful partnership among BASF, Stolt Tankers, Mercurius Shipping Group, and a consortium consisting of Duisburger Entwicklungszentrum für Schiffstechnik und Transportsysteme, Technolog Services GmbH, and Agnos Consulting. KfW IPEX-Bank has provided a substantial part of the financing for the vessel.
“In the increasing droughts of recent years, we see effects of climate change that have already become a reality,” said Andreas Ufer, member of the Management Board at KfW IPEX-Bank. “To support the transformation process towards a sustainable and future-proof economy, we not only finance projects that contribute to a reduction in global emissions, but also future technologies that help to deal with the realities of climate change. We are therefore particularly pleased to be involved in this flagship project, which is helping to make inland navigation fit for the future.”
“Following the extreme low water levels on the Rhine in 2018, we initiated an extensive program to improve climate resilience at Ludwigshafen site. Now BASF takes advantage of the most powerful low water vessel on the Rhine, ensuring the supply to our customers and production plants,” said Uwe Liebelt, President of European Verbund Site Management, BASF SE.
Lucas Vos, President of Stolt Tankers, said: “This exciting project demonstrates Stolt Tankers’ commitment to developing new technologies and ship designs for a sustainable maritime industry. I am proud of the team involved in bringing the vision for a tanker that can operate at the lowest water levels on the Rhine to life. We are looking forward to operating the Stolt Ludwigshafen exclusively for BASF and contributing to the security of its supply chain in the region.”
Stolt Ludwigshafen at a glance
The tanker was built between mid-2021 and 2023. The hull was manufactured by Mercurius Shipping Group in Yangzhou, China, on behalf of Stolt Tankers. It was then transported to Rotterdam, Netherlands, to complete the outfitting of the ship. After successful test trials, the Stolt Ludwigshafen completed its first trip for BASF at the end of April 2023.
This innovative inland tanker has a unique design: to achieve a high load-bearing capacity, the dimensions of the new ship are 135 by 17.5 meters, which is considerably larger than conventional tankers on the Rhine. To further optimize the cargo capacity, the hull features a special lightweight construction while ensuring high structural stability. Additionally, the ship has a hydrodynamically optimized hull, and a special propulsion system adapted to allow safe operation even under extreme low-water conditions. These features allow the ship to pass the critical point in the river Rhine near Kaub with a cargo payload of 800 tonnes even at a gauge level of 30 centimeters (corresponding to a water depth of 1.6 meters). At moderately low water levels (e.g., Kaub gauge of 100 centimeters), its loading capacity of around 2,300 tonnes will be twice that of conventional inland vessels. Overall, the Stolt Ludwigshafen will feature a maximum loading capacity of 5,100 tonnes.
The ship is powered by three electric motors, which are fed by the latest generation of highly efficient Stage-V diesel generators with exhaust gas aftertreatment. These engines enable high efficiency and provide an optimized environmental footprint, leading to a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of around 30 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions of around 70 to 80 percent. In the future, existing diesel generators will have the potential to be modified to allow the use of methanol as a fuel source or will be able to be replaced by other generator types (e.g., hydrogen fuel cells) once these technologies achieve market maturity.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 111,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €87.3 billion in 2022. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
About Stolt Tankers
Stolt Tankers operates a fleet of more than 160 sophisticated parcel tankers, providing safe, reliable and high-quality global transportation services for bulk-liquid chemicals, edible oils, acids and clean petroleum products. Its fleet is seamlessly integrated with Stolt Tankers’ deep-sea fleets in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean; with coastal fleets in Asia; and with inland barging services in Europe and the U.S. Gulf.
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