This week we loaded for the first time in the Port of Pietarsaari UPM’s pulp onto one of the new dual fuel vessels – Lady Marie Christine – which use liquefied natural gas (LNG) or marine gas oil. The pulp will be offloaded in Stetting, Poland and Flushing in the Netherlands, from where the softwood and birch pulp bales will travel to customers in several European countries.

During 2022 UPM will take into operation seven new state-of-the-art ships for its sustainable sea transportation in Europe. In 2019 UPM entered into a long term charter agreement with the Finnish Bore Ltd and the Dutch Wijnne Barends, both affiliates of the Dutch Spliethoff Group. The first of the new vessels started operating in April.

“The new vessels running on LNG will consume less fuel than our present fleet of vessels. Through this fleet modernization we are showing our commitment to cutting down our emissions and also helping our customers to do the same. As part of UPM’s continuous focus on sustainability, we are constantly on the lookout for different ways to improve our fleet’s energy efficiency, while reducing emissions and fuel consumption," says the Director of Global Break Bulk Shipping at UPM, Lauri Rikala.

Using LNG fuel enables UPM to meet the new rules for CO2 emissions. It lowers the total emissions and, along with that, helps compliance with NOX regulations. These modern vessels have also been designed with the digital age in mind, carrying onboard cutting edge technologies to monitor emissions, reduce fuel consumption and help augment the crew's work and safety.

In operating this new fleet UPM is pioneering a new path in the forestry industry, becoming the first company to upgrade its transportation network with environmentally smart vessels.

“UPM has committed to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of its supply chain by 30% by 2030. As part of our efforts to meet that target, it was crucial for us that we invest in a modern fleet to meet the most stringent environmental requirements. And through these investments we will also help deliver a lower carbon footprint to our customers’ value chains,” says Rikala.

“We are happy that it’s now possible to safely fuel up ships with LNG at the Port of Pietarsaari thanks to the development work done together with our customers. We are pleased join in taking action that leads to reduced emissions, and we will continue doing our part in the green transformation,” says Juha Hakala, Managing Director, Port of Pietarsaari Ltd..

The new vessels offer scheduled sailing from Finland to Poland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, UK, France and Spain. Southbound cargoes will typically consist of pulp and other UPM products such as paper, timber and plywood, while northbound routes will see raw materials such as china clay, woodchips and pulpwood being carried for use by UPM’s various businesses. The vessels will operate about 20 voyages every month, carrying over 100,000 tonnes of cargo to and from our various customers and suppliers.

The company often helps transport other non-UPM cargo as well. As the arm responsible for UPM’s global sea transportation and port operations, UPM Logistics has been time chartering nine vessels in Europe to carry out the company’s cargo shipping needs.

Utilising wastewaters through circular economy solutions

UPM is the first Finnish company, acting as a shipper and charterer, to discharge its ship-generated wastewater on land and utilise various circular economy solutions in wastewater treatment. The commitment was published to the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) on World Oceans Day – 8 June 2022. The new model will be implemented in the ports of Rauma, Hamina, Kotka and Pietarsaari, which are the four most important ports for UPM's operations.

Furthermore, UPM is exploring opportunities to use recycled nutrients from ship-generated wastewater in its own wastewater treatment plants. This way UPM contributes to its 2030 target of using only recycled nutrients in the wastewater treatment plants within its production plants.