Meriaura orders two biofuel powered vessels and aims for carbon neutrality in 2030s

Meriaura has ordered two Ecotrader cargo ships from the Dutch shipyard Royal Bodewes. The ships will be built in Holland and their delivery will take place on January and December 2026.

The ordered Ecotrader ships are 105 meters long, 1A ice classed 6750 DWT vessels. The ships are designed to achieve the lowest possible emission levels. Like the Meriaura Ecocoaster vessels introduced in 2016, the Ecotraders can operate on biofuel made from recycled raw material, produced by Meriaura’s subsidiary VG-Ecofuel. The Ecotrader vessels are approximately 30 percent larger than the Ecocoasters. This is to meet the market and customer needs, and a larger vessel size also improves the economic efficiency and lightens the environmental burden of transport.

“This order is a continuum in our series of investments to energy-efficient tonnage that utilizes bio-oil. In the current geopolitical situation, we found it best to order the ships from an established shipyard operating in Europe, which is also in line with our ESG strategy. Security of delivery, quality, and the yard’s ability to comply with safety and environmental regulations, and our good experience with the previous new buildings were the most important factors in our decision to choose Royal Bodewes as our shipbuilder again,” says Beppe Rosin, CEO of Meriaura.

The international maritime organization IMO has set the goal for carbon-neutral shipping by 2050 Meriaura’s climate strategy aims for carbon neutrality more than a decade earlier.

“Our purpose is to systematically renew our fleet with a series of new buildings. The use of biooil combined with compensation enables us to reach the goal of being a carbon-neutral shipping company already in the 2030s,” says Meriaura’s founder and Chairman Jussi Mälkiä.

Meriaura is a pioneer of biofuels in shipping. When using the company’s in-house produced, waste-based biofuel, the transports’ lifecycle
emissions are 97,7% lower than with fossil fuels. The EcoVoy concept brings the benefits of emissions savings to the customer. EcoVoy is audited by KPMG according to the ISAE3000 standard, and the production is ISCC certified.