Graanul invest acquired 3rd bulk carrier, 133-m (436 ft) „Launkalne“.

Graanul Invest ship fleet welcomes its 3rd member – the 133-m (436 ft) bulk carrier „Launkalne“. Due to optimal and fully controlled logistics solutions, the new ship reduces both the carbon footprint and cost of transport. With its smaller size, the “Launkalne” is the best vessel for servicing smaller and shallow ports, operating mainly between Pärnu, Estonia, and Denmark.

The new bulk carrier was registered to Graanul Invest shipping company on 19th of January. “Launkalne” can carry up to 8100 metric tonnes of wood pellets. The ship is named by the Graanul Invest Group 3rd factory (2007) in Launkalne, Latvia.

MS “Launkalne” is built in 2010 in Ferus Smit Shipyard in the Netherlands. “Acquiring the third bulk carrier is an important step for servicing our customers along Baltic coasts. The ship draft and 7500-8100 t capacity is optimal for operating between a rather shallow Copenhagen area ports and the river port in Pärnu, Estonia,” commented  Mr. Olari Tiide, Logistics Manager of Graanul Invest. “The wood pellet shipments will be sent mainly from Pärnu, Estonia; Riga, Latvia and from Bekkeri port in Tallinn, Estonia. The customers are in Denmark, Netherland, Germany and Sweden – all around Baltic sea coastline.”

“Launkalne” is entered into the Cyprus Registry of ships. She will be manned by Marlow Navigation, the technical operator is Grona Shipmanagement and the daily operations are managed by Graanul Invest Logistics team.

“The first impressions of the ship are excellent,” commented her captain Mr. Alexander Telnov. The maneuverability and ease of operating in rather narrow and ice-covered Pärnu river port were fast and fluent on our maiden journey.” After ~ 20h loading in Pärnu, the first shipful of sustainable wood pellets headed towards Copenhagen, for the Ørsted heat and power plant.

“Sustainability and reducing the ecological footprint of our products has always been a priority of Graanul Invest,” said Mr. Olari Tiide, Logistics Manager of Graanul Invest. “All our customers want the product’s carbon footprint to be as small as possible at the expense of the energy used in transport and production, and the demand for environmentally friendly biofuels is growing,” added Mr. Tiide.

All wood pellets produced in the Baltics are shipped inside the SECA zone with minimized sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, making the shipping environmental footprint the best in the world.

Graanul Invest supplies sustainable biofuel for its partners across Europe through several ports in Baltics. The largest markets are Great Britain, Netherland, and Denmark.

Launkalne

MS “Launkalne”