Hapag-Lloyd LNG Bunkering Retrofit for Boxship to Cost $35 Million

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday September 30, 2020

Shipping company Hapag-Lloyd's retrofit of one of its container ships to run on LNG will cost the company about $35 million, it said Tuesday.

The 15,000 TEU Sajir is undergoing the retrofit at a Shanghai shipyard, and had its new gas tank lifted on board last weekend, the company said in a statement on its website. After the conversion the ship is expected to undergo initial test voyages in early 2021 before entering service again on the Asia-North Europe route.

The conversion is welcome evidence that existing ships can be modified to run on natural gas, rather than new ships needing to be ordered, but some shipowners are likely to baulk at the $35 million price tag on the operation.

"With this unique pilot project, we hope to learn for the future and to pave the way for large ships to be retrofitted to use this promising alternative fuel," Richard von Berlepsch, managing director of the fleet at Hapag-Lloyd, said in the statement.

"However, our long-term goal continues to be CO2-neutral shipping operations using synthetic natural gas."

Finn Fuelbier, director of global fuel purchasing at Hapag-Lloyd, will be speaking at the IBIA Annual Convention 2020 in November.

The global convention, being held online this year for the first time, will cover three days from November 3.

To register for the convention, click here: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/ibia-annual-convention-2020-going-global.