ÈTA Shipping and global commodity group Mercuria are collaborating on a series of shortsea bulk carriers that will be diesel electric in their initial configuration, but with containerised gensets on deck, they will be readily adaptable to new fuels and new technologies over their lifetime.

The idea is for the ships to have a 40-year lifetime, meeting the increasingly stringent requirements on GHG emissions along the way to ultimately become zero-emission vessels.

The joint venture will see the construction of six initial (and another 10 optional) vessels built by Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering. The vessels will be owned by Mare Balticum, a subsidiary of Mercuria, with ÈTA Shipping acting as a minority shareholder. The maiden voyage of the first vessel is planned for the second half of 2025.

The investment in ÈTA Shipping and the new series of ÈTA 6700 vessels gives Mercuria a platform to accelerate its transition to zero carbon as fast as new technologies become commercially available.