Viridis Bulk Carriers Aims to Lead Green Shift in Shipping

[By: Amon Maritime AS]

Navigare Logistics, Amon Maritime and Mosvolds Rederi join forces to create a pure zero emission shipping company, offering short sea bulk transportation without emissions of CO2. This partnership demonstrates the ambition to be a leading player in the green shift in shipping.

Viridis Bulk Carriers aim to play a leading role in the green transition of the industry, offering our clients competitive, carbon free logistics solutions without sacrificing the performance of our vessels, says Espen Nordstrøm, Managing Director at Navigare Logistics.

The project «FlexBulk – Ammonia power» is a green game changer for short sea shipping 

Viridis has received pre-project support for «FlexBulk – Ammonia power» under the Norwegian «Green Platform» grant program. Together with Arena Ocean Hyway Cluster, Viridis will further develop the project, laying the foundation for a series of newbuildings. 

Viridis is inviting forward-thinking bulk charterers, serious about lowering their carbon footprints to join the project.

In the FlexBulk project we will build a carbon free bulk logistics network through a set of freight agreements with select clients, served by a new fleet of innovative, ammonia-powered vessels, says Espen Nordstrøm, Managing Director at Navigare Logistics. 

Ammonia is the most promising carbon free marine fuel

Many players in the maritime industry consider ammonia the most promising alternative fuel for the future, offering superior energy density compared with other zero emission alternatives. 
Utilizing ammonia as a carbon free fuel allows us to develop cost-efficient and robust ships with sufficient operational range to allow for trading flexibility” says André Risholm, CEO at Amon Maritime. 

We believe a large-scale green transition in shipping will only happen if the ships of tomorrow are as capable, or more capable, as the ships of today. Therefore, our vessels will be able to steam more than 3 000 nautical miles between bunkering, says Risholm.

Will replace aging fleet with zero emission ships

With the European short sea bulk fleet having a high age profile, Viridis sees a growing demand for newbuildings.

With an average age of close to 30 years, the European short-sea shipping fleet is on the verge of a much-needed renewal process. Our strategy is to meet the demand by replacing the aged fleet with zero emission ships. We are skipping gradual emission reductions and going straight for a long-term, sustainable solution, says Jan Sigurd Vigmostad, Chief Investment Officer at Glastad Holding / Mosvolds Rederi.

Viridis Bulk Carriers have ambitions to place the first newbuild orders in 2022, with deliveries from 2024 and onwards.