Germany’s Vega Reederei is expanding its fleet with 10 diesel-electric coaster newbuilds in China.

The 3，800 dwt vessels designed by Dutch Conoship will be built by a company of the Sinomach Group for delivery as early as August 2024 until May 2025， on a monthly basis.

The move makes the Hamburg-based owner’s re-entry into the small coaster sector， which will add to its diversified fleet which is mostly comprised of boxships but also includes a handysize bulk carrier and a product tanker.

“For Vega， the market entry has excellent timing as the current fleet is high-consuming and overaged. The shipping company will operate a 100% newbuilding fleet for a market-re-entry，” noted Conoship.

The vessels have been designed to meet and surpass environmental standards required in today’s shipping industry and can also be upgraded to full-electric by replacing three main engines with hydrogen cells. The design also provides the possibility of integrating wind-assisted propulsion with one eConowind unit.