Methanol or Ammonia Propulsion Add 11-16% to Newbuild Cost: MMMCZCS

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday September 29, 2022

Adding the systems needed to run a newbuild ship on methanol or ammonia could add up to 16% to the construction cost, according to the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

The research body published a report on its website on Thursday setting out the practical considerations for converting ships to run on green fuels, basing its estimates on a 15,000 TEU container ship.

Methanol or ammonia propulsion would add about 11-16% to the cost of a newbuild vessel of this size, according to the research. 

Meanwhile converting one of these vessels to run on methanol would cost 10-16% of the newbuild construction cost, with this range increasing to 19-24% for ammonia.

"Methanol and ammonia have a lower calorific density than fuel oil, so they require larger tanks to provide the same range as fuel oil vessels." the organisation said in the report.

"In this study we used full range tank volumes of 16 000 m3 for methanol and 20 000 m3 for ammonia, compared with 8 000m3 for fuel oil.

"As a result, converting to full range dual fuel vessels using our designs reduces cargo space by 240-610 and 530-1100 TEU for methanol and ammonia, respectively, with conversion of unprepared ships sacrificing most space.

"These cargo losses can cause a significant reduction in the earning potential of the vessel, so they must be carefully considered before planning dual fuel or conversion-ready vessels."

To read the report in full, click here.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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