Spain’s shipbuilding industry is raising its game through the construction of the national fleet’s first diesel-electric cargo vessels. With Mundaka NM, the lead vessel in a series of four 6,200dwt newbuilds nearing completion, Astilleros de Murueta recently launched second-of-class Katuxa NM from its Erandio yard on Bilbao’s Nervion River.

The 103m Mundaka NM-type is a single-hold, general purpose carrier powered by an electrical propulsion system based on two main generators. The concept and design has been developed by the shipbuilder’s engineering division in collaboration with the group’s contractual owner Naviera Murueta.