The chemical and product tanker Stena Impero was named yesterday Guangzhou in southeast China. She is the last in a series of 13 sister ships ordered by Stena Bulk at the shipyard GSI (Guangzhou Shipbuilding International) in 2012 and represents an investment of SEK 4 billion, Stena Bulk said in its press release.
After her delivery on 7 February she will sail on her maiden voyage with a cargo of vegetable oils from Asia to Europe.
“It was exactly three years ago that we took delivery of our first vessel in the IMOIIMAX series and the vessels have performed beyond our expectations. Both the technical and the commercial concepts have proved to be very successful and have set a new standard for cargo efficiency and bunker consumption. With the delivery of the Stena Impero, the IMOIIMAX fleet is now complete, in line with the order, and is a significant and competitive addition to our high-quality fleet. At the same time, it is an important step forward and a development of our existing sophisticated trading system”, comments Erik Hånell, President and CEO of Stena Bulk.
“With the last vessel now delivered, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the shipyard GSI for fantastic collaboration with Stena Teknik during the development of the technology and during the three long years of production”, adds a satisfied and proud Erik Hånell.
More about the Stena Impero
The MR tanker Stena Impero is owned by Stena Bulk and will, together with her 12 sisters delivered earlier, sail in one of Stena Bulk’s global logistic systems, which focuses on refined petroleum products, vegetable oils and chemicals. The fleet consists of 60 vessels related to Products & Chemicals and is operated from Stena Bulk’s recently opened office in Copenhagen with support from the company’s offices in Singapore, Houston and Dubai and its head office in Gothenburg.
Facts - the IMOIIMAX concept
IMOIIMAX is a vessel concept with a focus on flexibility and is a further development of an already well-established concept. The innovative technical design was developed by Stena Bulk and Stena Teknik together with the Chinese shipyard GSI. It offers several advantages such as extra large cargo flexibility, a high level of safety and economical fuel consumption. An IMOIIMAX tanker has 18 separate tanks (3,000 m3/tank), which provides for large freedom of choice as regards combinations of cargoes. The tanks have a Jotun Flexline coating, which means that they can also be easily cleansed and thus be used for other cargoes to quickly switch between different markets. Furthermore, the IMOIIMAX tanker’s cargo flexibility and ability to quickly cleanse the cargo tanks for different cargoes maximises its capacity utilisation rate.
With offices in six countries, Stena Bulk is one of the world’s leading tanker shipping companies. The company controls a combined fleet of around 100 tankers. Stena Bulk is part of the Stena Sphere, which has more than 20,000 employees and sales of SEK 60 billion.