MV Yampu hybrid bulk carrier begins operations in Australia

The MV Yampu, a 125-metre hybrid battery-powered self-unloading bulk carrier, has commenced operations in South Australia. Built by the Canadian marine shipping company CSL Group, the vessel is designed to transport approximately 2.7 million tonnes of limestone annually from Adbri’s Klein Point quarry on the Yorke Peninsula to the company’s Birkenhead cement manufacturing plant in Adelaide.

The ship utilizes a combination of diesel and battery electric propulsion, allowing it to operate on battery power roughly 40 per cent of the time. It features an onboard battery capacity of 6,758 kWh, which recharges while docked at the Birkenhead facility. The vessel is intended to eventually operate on 100 per cent battery power.

Compared to the vessel it replaces, the MV Yampu is expected to reduce diesel consumption by more than half a million litres per year and reduce Scope 1 emissions by 40 per cent. The ship has a capacity of 11,900 deadweight tonnes and is expected to increase annual limestone transport capacity by 35 per cent.