“It’s like commissioning a hospital; everything has to be tested and double checked. Cabins are furnished and systems put into operation simultaneously. For example, we cannot start the engines until we’ve made sure emergency stops, temperatures and pressures are all working properly.

A great deal must be done by the shipyard to prepare the ship for inclining tests. The ship must be as good as finished and all loose equipment removed. Scaffolding, welding units, forklift trucks, scissor lifts, rubbish – it can add up to hundreds of tonnes. But it all got done in the end, and we carried out successful inclining tests.

It has been a long time of preparation, and finally we have completed the first sea trail. The ships movement at sea is pleasant and promising, I can imagine nice voyages when loaded with cargo.

During our six days at sea, we have put the ship’s speed, manoeuvrability, equipment and safety functions to the test. We want to make sure she is technically ready and meets specifications so that we can deliver a safe, reliable and efficient ship for its crew and owner,” says Henrik Sundkvist, Site Manager.

Unlike conventional vessels, WALLENIUS SOL’s new multi-fuel ships will undergo two sets of sea trials instead of one. The first trials concern operations on low-sulphur gas oil (Marine Gas Oil – MGO), and during the next sea trials the ship will run on LNG. 

Following the final trial, the shipyard will have a number of weeks to action any items before handover and the long-awaited maiden voyage back home to the waters of the Gulf of Bothnia. Delivery of the first vessel is scheduled for the first half of 2022.

The ships has a length of 242 metres, a beam of 35.2 metres and are specially designed to meet the harsh winter conditions in the Gulf of Bothnia.