This story requires a subscription
This includes a single user license.
K Line said on Thursday that the vessels, each with a capacity of 1,380 vehicles, were ordered for its European unit, K Line Line European Sea Highway Services GmbH (KESS), which operates short sea and coastal transport services for completely built-up cars in Europe.
The shipping firm did not reveal the pricing details or delivery dates.
The ice-class 1A vessels will be 129.95 meters long and approximately 20.5 meters wide.
K Line said the vessels are designed for the frequent transport of small lots in European short-sea shipping.
They are also designed to comply with size restrictions, which some European ports for imported cars have.
K Line said it is “confident” that these vessel specifications will give KESS a competitive advantage in its European short sea shipping operations.
The vessels are equipped with straight stern ramps with a load capacity of 60 tons.
This enhances KESS’s capacity to handle heavy and oversized cargo and increases its flexibility to carry a wide variety of cargo types in addition to passenger cars, it said.
Moreover, K Line claims the use of LNG fuel is expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 25 percent to 30 percet and emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) by almost 100 percent compared to conventional vessels using heavy fuel oil.
Additionally, to further reduce GHG emissions, K Line will consider using bio-diesel and bio-LNG fuel, or liquefied biomethane, in addition to LNG fuel.
The vessels each use a high-pressure type ME-GI engine with a shaft generator, reducing emissions of methane slip, K Line said.
Fleet
K Line previously said it aims to have approximately 40 LNG-powered vessels in its fleet by 2030.
The company said in its financial report in November 2025 that “a total of 12 LNG-fueled car
carriers have already been delivered, and the number of environmentally-friendly vessels is planned to reach 30 by FY2030.”
Besides LNG-fueled vessels and one LNG bunkering vessel, K Line also has a large fleet of LNG carriers.
K Line is on track to have 65 LNG carriers in its fleet by fiscal 2026.
