Concordia Damen receives 40 inland waterway barge order from J.P. Morgan.

The barges will be chartered by Shell and operated by the VT Group/Marlow. Hamburg-based broker Frachtcontor played a major role in bringing all parties together Concordia Damen has developed a highly efficient new design, known as Parsifal, for the order.

The 110 x 11.5 metres vessels will have LNG propulsion and extreme shallow draught capabilities – 2800 ton on 3.25 metre draught – in order to maximise cargo carrying capacity on Dutch, Belgian and German canal and river networks.

Martin van Veen, freight trading manager, of Shell explained the choice of Concordia Damen, saying, “Concordia Damen has a proven track record in the delivery of products that are highly efficient and sustainable. In addition, they have demonstrated their capabilities in the delivery of shallow draught vessels – which is of importance to this project. We are looking forward to the collaboration".

Concordia Damen will begin construction of the tankers in December this year. The delivery of the first vessel will be in November 2021.