Hapag-Lloyd Plans Methanol Retrofits for Five 10,100 TEU Boxships

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday April 16, 2024

Container line Hapag-Lloyd is planning to retrofit five of its chartered ships to run on methanol.

The company has signed a partnership deal with Seaspan Corporation, which owns the vessels, to retrofit the five 10,100 TEU boxships, it said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

The company plans for the ships -- the Seaspan AmazonSeaspan GangesSeaspan ThamesSeaspan Yangtze and Seaspan Zambezi -- to run on green methanol from 2026.

"The methanol retrofit project is a further step in our ambitious sustainability agenda, which aims to achieve the decarbonisation of the entire fleet by 2045," Maximilian Rothkopf, chief operating officer at Hapag-Lloyd, said in the statement.

"By enabling these vessels to use green methanol as of 2026, we will meet our customers' growing demand for green transportation solutions.

"With Seaspan, we benefit from a valued partner with deep experience, a wide supplier network and scale."

Methanol is rapidly gaining in popularity as an alternative marine fuel, driven in large part by the container segment's confidence in it, with orders of methanol-fuelled tonnage now coming in regularly from a variety of shipping segments. The main challenge for this market will be the scaling-up of green methanol supply in time to meet the needs of the new ships as they are delivered.