Updates to the emergency supply fleet

The fleet of ships securing Finland’s fuel supply is being updated to make it more modern and environmentally friendly. The latest addition is product tanker Saana, which will be joined by another product tanker, Halti, at the end of 2023. Overall, the fleet comprises four tankers and three terminal tugs.

The emergency supply fleet was created 2014, when the National Emergency Supply Agency and Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company purchased five tankers and three terminal tugs from the Neste fleet to ensure Finland’s fuel supply under all circumstances. The purpose of the arrangement is to ensure continued fuel management and the security of supply.

Asset management company Navidom was established for the emergency supply fleet. The original fleet consisted of raw oil tanker Mastera, product tankers Neste, Futura, Suula and Kiisla as well as tugboats Ahti, Ukko and Esko. The ships were leased back to Neste through long-term agreements.

Since then, the fleet’s raw oil tanker has been sold. Neste and Futura were replaced with the ships Uikku and Lunni in 2018. In late 2023, Suula and Kiisla will be replaced by Saana and Halti which were built in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The carrying capacity of Saana and Halti is 16,300 tonnes, and the ships are 150 metres in length, 22.8 metres in width and 8.9 metres in rated draught. The ice class of the ships is IA, and they are equipped with a dual-fuel propulsion engine which can also be operated with liquefied natural gas (LNG) or biogas. In addition to this, the ships are equipped for battery operation and shore-side electricity supply at ports. The fuel consumption and emissions are substantially lower than those of the current ships. Both ships also boast an EEDI index that is lower than that of other tankers in the same size class. This indicates ecological operation.

The staffing and technical maintenance of the ships are handled by Ship Management Finland Oy.