Spain’s Mureloil SA has signed a contract with shipbuilder Astilleros de Murueta to build a new hybrid chemical tanker for bunkering operations in Portuguese waters.

The deal was signed on December 18 in Bilbao, Mureloil said in an email statement on Tuesday.

The new vessel will feature a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system with batteries, allowing the vessel to operate in fully electric mode for several hours.

The tanker is designed to handle conventional marine fuels as well as biofuel blends and methanol. It will also be equipped to connect to an onshore power supply.

Delivery is planned for end-2027, with the ship classed by Bureau Veritas and sailing under the Spanish flag.

This latest order follows Mureloil’s launch in June of a 7,500 m3 hybrid chemical tanker, which was chartered to Repsol for bunkering operations.