Oslo-based MPC Container Ships has christened a methanol dual-fuel container ship that will operate under a seven-year time charter with global port and logistics operator DP World.

The 1,250 TEU vessel, named DP World Southampton, is set to be deployed in Northern Europe, the company announced in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.

"Her methanol-capable dual-fuel engine and shore power connectivity significantly reduce emissions compared to conventional vessels, marking another step in our fleet's transition toward more climate-friendly tonnage and our commitment to decarbonizing maritime transport," the company said in the post.

The vessel's dual-fuel engine can operate on conventional marine fuels as well as methanol, an alternative fuel that contains no sulfur and produces lower particulate emissions, while its shore power capability allows the ship to connect to the landside electricity grid while berthed instead of running its auxiliary engines. Under a time charter arrangement, the vessel's owner continues to manage its operation while the charterer deploys it for a fixed period. The size of the greenhouse gas benefit from burning methanol depends on how the fuel is produced, with methanol derived from renewable electricity or biomass delivering larger lifecycle reductions than methanol made from fossil feedstocks.

The christening is the latest in a series of alternative-fuel moves by MPC Container Ships. Last year, the company chartered another methanol dual-fuel container ship to North Sea Container Line, and it has also ordered six alternative-fuel-ready container ships from China's Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering. Methanol dual-fuel designs have accounted for a substantial share of alternative-fuel container ship orders placed in recent years, with the world's first methanol-enabled container ship, Maersk's Laura Maersk, entering service in 2023, and MPCC's investments extend the technology into the intra-regional feeder trades.

The vessel's Northern Europe deployment also comes amid tightening emissions rules in European waters, where shipping was brought into the European Union's Emissions Trading System in 2024, the FuelEU Maritime regulation introduced greenhouse gas intensity limits for ship fuels from 2025, and EU infrastructure rules will require shore-side electricity connections for containerships at key ports from 2030.

MPC Container Ships is a Norwegian container ship owner focused on intra-regional container trades, with shares listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker MPCC. The company's fleet investments come as the shipping industry pursues the greenhouse gas reduction goals set by the International Maritime Organization, whose 2023 revised strategy targets net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, with checkpoint reductions of at least 20% by 2030 and 70% by 2040 compared with 2008 levels. The pace of the fuel transition is closely tied to the availability of renewable methanol, which remains limited relative to conventional bunker fuels.

Source: Ship & Bunker