Isle of Man Ship Registry Fleet's New Energy Efficient Berge Bulk Vessels

[By: Isle of Man Ship Registry]

The Isle of Man Ship Registry (IOMSR) is reinforcing its position as one of the world’s most progressive flag states by registering four new energy efficient Newcastlemax bulk carriers from Singapore based dry bulk owner Berge Bulk.

The four 211,000 DWT Newcastlemax carriers, the Berge Mauna Kea, Berge Mauna Loa, Berge Haleakala and Berge Hualalai, built by Imabari Shipbuilding, in Japan are part of Berge Bulk’s continued commitment to sustainability. They will immediately benefit from the IOMSR’s reduced registration fees for vessels deploying green technology, with fuel consumption 15 per cent lower than other Newcastlemax vessels in Berge Bulk’s fleet. The new vessels are equipped with cutting-edge features such as advanced hull designs, a smaller and more efficient main engine, and an upgraded stern gear system, optimised for both fuel efficiency and lower emissions. 

IOMSR director Cameron Mitchell welcomed the innovative new sister vessels to the Isle of Man flag.

“We’re very proud to see these four ships join the IOMSR,” he said. “We’ve worked closely with Berge Bulk on this project and we are both passionate about driving the decarbonisation agenda by embracing the latest technologies in line with the IMO 2050 GHG targets. These vessels are deploying a wide variety of energy efficient technologies and it has been brilliant for our surveying team to work with Berge Bulk registering and fine tuning all these cutting-edge innovations.”

Mr Mitchell said this is the second major green technology project the IOMSR has worked on with Berge Bulk in the last year. 

“We feel we’re generating a lot of momentum with Berge Bulk pioneering the use of the latest technologies,” he said. “We also helped deliver the Berge Olympus, the world’s most powerful sailing cargo ship to the IOMSR following a retrofit. This project saw four WindWings installed on the Newcastlemax bulker. We look forward to continuing our innovative partnership with Berge Bulk as it works towards its very ambitious sustainability goals.” 

Under the IOMSR green registration fees regime, the first launched by a flag state, Berge Bulk will receive a 10 per cent reduction on the annual registration fee for the vessels. Each of the ships run on six per cent lower fuel consumption compared to their predecessors and are 40 per cent more efficient than similar vessels built in 2008. The ships come as part of the company’s ambitious bid to be zero emissions fleetwide by 2025 and to build a fully zero emissions vessel by 2030.

The vessels are each just under 300M long, 50M wide with a combined DWT of over 844,000 and they incorporate a host of optimised features including a smaller, more efficient main engine which is designed to maintain higher operating speeds and optimal maneuverability. This is achieved by new low-load tuning, which combines sequential fuel injection and exhaust gas bypass tuning for optimized specific fuel oil consumption, while reducing harmful emissions.

The vessels also feature an upgraded hull design - tailored to optimise performance - as well as an advanced stern gear system with a rudder bulb and a custom propeller duct to enhance propulsion efficiency. All of these elements enable 15 per cent lower fuel consumption than other Newcastlemax vessels in Berge Bulk’s fleet.

Berge Bulk plans to further the fours ships’ energy efficiency credentials by implementing power management, propeller fouling prevention and high

frequency data collection systems for performance monitoring, alongside an advanced voyage optimization system.

This means that the ships meet the latest MARPOL regulations around air pollution. They are also fully compliant with EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) Phase 3 in advance of IMO requirements, which applies to ships of 400 gross tonnage and above engaged in international voyages.

The ships travel between Australia, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, China and Brazil, which are trade routes known for having favorable wind conditions.

Starting out with 12 vessels in 2007, the Berge Bulk now owns, operates and manages 90 safe and fuel-efficient vessels, equating to more than 15 million DWT in the water. More than half of all active vessels in the Berge Bulk fleet are IOMSR flagged.

The IOMSR, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, believes that the maritime industry has a collective responsibility to respond to the climate emergency. To that end, it became the first flag state to join the Getting to Zero Coalition, an industry-led alliance working towards decarbonizing the international maritime shipping sector.

It is a partnership between the Global Maritime Forum, the Friends of Ocean Action and the World Economic Forum. Members include more than 120 organizations from the maritime, energy, infrastructure and finance sectors.

The IOMSR is one of the world’s leading flag states and is ranked 18 in the world by Clarkson’s with 313 ships and around 12M GT under its flag. The registry has held top spot on the Paris MoU Port State Control whitelist and is on the whitelist in the Tokyo MoU rankings.

The registry is headquartered in Douglas, Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency and is a Category One member of the Red Ensign group.